


As the World Falls Down

by Abraxas



Series: Dangers Untold [1]
Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: Drama & Romance, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fae & Fairies, Fae Magic, Fantasy, Father-Son Relationship, Good versus Evil, Minor Character Death, Unconventional Families, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 65,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23902183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abraxas/pseuds/Abraxas
Summary: Sarah returns home for Toby's tenth birthday, after breaking up with her latest boyfriend. Some strange coincidences start her thinking more and more about the Labyrinth...and its King...
Relationships: Jareth & Toby Williams, Jareth/Sarah Williams, Sarah Williams & Toby Williams
Series: Dangers Untold [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1722850
Comments: 47
Kudos: 78





	1. Love's Such an Old Fashioned Word

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this and its sequel at FF.net years ago and am finally migrating them over here. They are both badly in need of revising and some major re-writes but, y'know, life and time...

'Sarah, wait. Just-'

She shook her head and gazed back at him sadly. There was so much pain and such incomprehension in his eyes that for a moment, she faltered, but then she steeled herself again. 'I'm sorry,' Sarah said softly. 'I really am. But this isn't going to work.'

He stared at her. 'How can you say that? After everything we've had, how can you say that?'

'Because it's true. You mean a lot to me, but…' she trailed off, unsure how to explain without hurting him even more.

'But what?'

'But it isn't enough, Sam,' she replied simply.

For a second he looked stunned. 'It isn't enough,' he repeated slowly. 'You mean I'm not enough, is that it? What is you do want, Sarah? Please, tell me.' His tone was half-angry, half pleading.

'I want…I want someone who'll…'

'I'll paint you mornings of gold, I'll spin you Valentine evenings…' The haunting voice floated back to her across the dividing chasm of space and time – for a few, brief seconds she felt herself whirling around in a room full of masked people and strange, wondrous things. She was spinning, falling…

'I want someone who'll turn the world upside down for me,' she said abruptly. The words came out before she had thought about them and Sarah was shocked to hear her own voice saying them. They hung in the air like some terrible accusation.

'You read too many romance novels as a kid,' Sam said quietly. 'That kind of love doesn't exist.'

'Maybe not. But you're not willing to even try.'

'Ok, look,' he ran his hands through his hair, 'we'll try again, huh? I'll turn the world, I'll give you the Goddamn Moon!'

'Yeah, it really sounds like you mean it,' she replied sarcastically.

'I just don't get you, Sarah. One moment everything's fine and then the next it's like you become another person. And not a nice one, either. You can be so…so…'

'Cruel?' she suggested.

'Yeah, that's it exactly. Here's a hint for the next time you decide to take up with some other poor sap – try to come down off the pedestal you've got yourself on. No one's gonna worship you as much as you do yourself.'

Sarah started at his words, hot anger coursing through her. But just as suddenly as it had come, it faded and the only feeling that she was left with was incredible weariness. She stood up, collecting her bag and scattered belongings.

'Sarah, Sarah, I'm sorry! I didn't mean…' He was trying to take hold of her arm, pulling her toward him. Sarah twisted out of his grasp and turned to face him.

'Sam, I'm tired and I've got a long drive tonight. Why don't you just pack up any of my stuff that's still at your place in a box, and I'll come by and collect it in a few weeks.'

Sarah walked out of the door. She knew that he was standing, watching her walk down the corridor – she could feel his eyes burning into her. But she didn't look back.

* * *

As Sarah turned her car onto the highway, she took her first true deep breath for hours. At least the weekend should be good. She was driving back home for Toby's tenth birthday. Ten? Ten. Sarah shook her head, marvelling to herself. Sometimes it was hard to believe that so much time had passed, and every time she went home she was surprised at how much older and bigger Toby had grown. Ten years ago, she had still been a sulky teenager and he had been a baby in a red-striped romper suit, just before… Sarah dragged her thoughts back abruptly. It did no good to think about the Labyrinth.

'Especially when you're driving,' she told herself wryly.

She focused her mind on the road ahead, but a few moments later the image of Sam's face drifted across her thoughts. Sam was young, intelligent and quite good looking. He was an architect and had already begun to make a name for himself. All of Sarah's friends had decided that they made a wonderful couple, and Sarah herself had agreed with them. And she had been very happy with Sam, it was just that… It was… It wasn't even something that she could put her finger on. It felt, at times, as though she were waiting for something more from him, as if she were measuring him against something. Sarah just didn't know what.

'You know very well what it is.' Sarah sighed. Even her own subconscious was starting to sound like someone else. And that was the third time today that he had come into her mind unbidden. It was happening more and more, lately. If Sarah had been completely honest with herself, she would have admitted that memories of that distant time had been a major factor in her break-up with Sam. After she had left his apartment, Sarah had driven back to her own place to pick up what she needed for the weekend. She was looking forward to it, especially as it was a long weekend and she could get away from things for a few days, even though she did like her life as it was at present. High School had been followed by Drama School then, through luck and determination, she had joined a small theatre group based in Boston. They weren't very big or very well known, but they had relatively steady work and some of the larger newspapers had started to review their productions. It was through the company that she had met Sam – a new arts centre was being built and they had been invited to perform a specially devised piece at the grand opening. They had gone to see the building – which was still a construction site at the time – and there they had met the architects. One of whom was Sam. He had been charming and witty … and he had asked her out almost immediately. Sarah gritted her teeth. At least at the opening night party there would be enough people there that she could avoid having to talk to Sam.

* * *

'Welcome home, honey!' Sarah's stepmother kissed her cheek and Sarah felt herself enveloped in a cloud of perfume. 'It's so good to see you. You look great!'

Sarah laughed. 'So do you! Where are the men folk?' She pulled her bag out of the car boot and walked up to the front door with her stepmother.

Karen rolled her eyes. 'Your father's at the office-'

'What, still? It's after seven!'

'Tell me about it. It's some tax evasion thing they're working on – he's been home late every night this week. And Toby's at his friend's house watching videos. Probably stuffing himself with pizza and coke, if he can! He's really looking forward to seeing you.'

'Mmm, so am I! Anyway, while they're out of the way, it gives us a chance to enjoy this.' Sarah pulled a bottle of wine out a carrier bag and handed it to Karen. Karen grinned back at her.

'I'll pop this in the fridge while you go and change. Then you can tell me all your news!'

ooOoo

Karen Williams observed her stepdaughter over the rim of her glass. They were sitting opposite each other at the breakfast bar. Sarah was playing with the stem of her glass, her long dark hair clinging to her neck in damp strands. She looked tired, Karen thought. But what gave her most concern was the distracted, almost defeated look in Sarah's eyes.

'Sarah, what's the matter? You look … uncomfortable.'

'That's my own fault for not bothering to dry my hair after my shower!' Sarah replied, laughing.

Karen gave her a reproachful look. 'I'm serious! Something's happened. Will you tell me what it is?'

Sarah glanced away; her eyes focusing on a point somewhere near the refrigerator. 'I've broken up with Sam.'

'Oh, sweetie,' Karen said softly. 'I'm so sorry.'

Sarah shrugged.

'When did this happen?'

'This afternoon.' Sarah looked up and met Karen's shocked expression. 'Just before I left to come here.'

It was a few moments before Karen was able to speak again. 'Sarah, why didn't you… You should've told…' She paused and took a sip of wine. 'What happened?'

'Nothing much. It wasn't going to work out, that's all. I though that it was best to finish it before it got complicated.'

Karen shook her head in disbelief. 'But you two seemed so happy. And the last time I spoke to you, you said that everything was fine.'

'I know. I wanted it to be. I tried to make it fine, I really did. But in the end I just… What?' Sarah frowned. She had noticed a strange expression flit across Karen's face.

'Nothing. I didn't say anything.'

'I saw that look. What is it?'

Karen fixed Sarah firmly in the eye and watched her intently for a few seconds. 'Well, Sarah… Look, I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but… Every boyfriend you've had… They've all ended the same way. Everything's great and then it all falls apart.'

'Oh, that is just not-' Sarah began, but then stopped. 'No, you're right. It is always the same.'

'What is it you're so afraid of?'

'You cowered before me, and I was frightening…'

Sarah shook her head sharply. 'I'm not afraid. It always gets to a point where I feel as though there should be something more. And then I realise that there isn't anything more, that this is all that I'll ever have with this person and it just makes me feel so hollow. Even when I felt that way with Sam I tried to keep going – I thought that if I really worked at it that everything would be fine. But it wasn't.' There was silence, both women were lost in thought, and then suddenly Sarah burst out. 'Is there something wrong with me? Am I abnormal or something?'

'Oh, honey, of course you're not! You're lovely. Look, Sarah, you're still very young. You still have your dreams, but eventually you might just have to accept that reality doesn't live up to your dreams. Which doesn't mean that it can't still be wonderful. Maybe there is such a thing as the one, true love of your life. But even if there is, most people will never find it.'

Coldness swept through her, and an indefinable emotion that was so strong it made her gasp for breath.

'What if you…' Sarah could hear the words forming, but her brain could hardly accept, hardly understand the emotion she was feeling. 'I think that once I may have…'

Karen grasped hold of her stepdaughter's hand. It was freezing cold.

'Sarah?'

'Nothing,' she replied faintly. She felt as though she had just been dragged out of an ice-cold sea. 'It's nothing.' She passed one hand over her eyes and was amazed to find moisture there. 'I bet Toby's getting all worked up over his birthday!' she said abruptly, changing the subject.

Karen hesitated for a moment, but decided that there was no point in forcing the issue. Once Sarah had made up her mind not to discuss something, that was the end of the matter. 'You know what he's like. Almost as bad as your father for making a fuss over things like this.' She smiled affectionately at the thought of both the absent son and husband.

'I can't wait to give him his present!'

'What did you get?' Karen asked, curious.

'I brought it down to show you.' Sarah picked up a package that she had put on the bar. Out of it came a large, hard-backed book. 'It's the new one by Delaine King. Autographed and everything!' Her eyes were shining with enthusiasm.

'He'll love it!' Karen exclaimed, turning it over in her hands. 'I tried to get it here, but of course they had all sold out by the time I got to the store. How did you get her autograph?'

* * *

The poster in the bookshop window had been huge. Book signing, today. Delaine King was the author of a series of hugely successful fantasy novels. She was Toby's favourite writer and notoriously reclusive. Sarah could hardly believe her luck when she had seen the notice, and gone inside immediately. There were piles of the latest book on a table: Sarah picked one up and then followed the arrows that were pointing upstairs. There were a lot people milling around – far more than usual – and of all ages. Sarah followed the flow of bodies until she found herself in a queue, which was slowly moving toward a large table. Sarah stood on tiptoe, her keen eyes scanning over the heads of the people in front of her, trying to catch a glimpse of the author. The queue moved forward slightly, and Sarah was able, finally, to see her. She was rather surprised to see that the exotically named Delaine King looked, well, very normal. In her black trousers and close fitting, amethyst coloured shirt, and blonde hair piled on top of her head, she looked like every other fashionable young woman around. Sarah wasn't quite sure what she had been expecting – and then decided it was a little unreasonable to imagine an author of fantasy novels wandering around in trailing lace and velvet. By this time, Sarah had reached the front. She held out the book, and a pair of dark brown eyes were raised to meet her own. Sarah felt a thrill run through her – even in those few seconds, she knew that there was something about this woman that was mesmerising. She looked too young to have such an aura of serenity and timelessness. Delaine smiled up at her.

'Hello. Who is this for?' Her voice was slightly husky and had a musical quality to it.

'What? Oh, yes, of course…the book. I'm sorry, I just hadn't expected you to be so…'

'Normal?' Delaine supplied. 'Yes, I've been getting that a lot lately!'

'I guess most people hadn't expected to see you at all. My brother's gonna be really jealous – that's who the book's for. It's his birthday.'

Delaine opened the book to a blank page and picked up her pen.

'What's his name?'

'Toby.'

'Toby,' Delaine repeated. 'And what's yours?'

'Sarah. Sarah Williams.'

Those dark eyes were raised again, and Sarah felt as though they were penetrating to her very soul. Then the look was gone and Delaine smiled pleasantly at her. 'It just that I have a feeling I've seen you somewhere before.'

'Oh!' Sarah suddenly felt flattered – this was completely new definition of the term 'celebrity spotting', when the celebrity was spotting her! 'I'm an actress – if you've seen any fringe theatre while you've been in Boston, you might have seen me there.'

'Yes, that must be it.' She bent over the book and finished off the inscription. 'There. I hope your brother enjoys it. Wish him a happy birthday from me!'

'I will! Thank-you so much.' Sarah took the gift back happily and moved away. She was already late for a rehearsal, so she made straight for the staircase. Sarah had taken a few steps down when she glanced back toward the table. Delaine King was looking over at her, before turning away again.

* * *

' "Dear Toby. For rainbow days and crystal dreams",' Karen read out the inscription. ' "With love, Delaine King". Oh, that's sweet! Toby'll be overjoyed. Thank-you, Sarah.'

'It was a pleasure! Maybe he'll even let me read it when he's finished!'

'Y'know, I a bit surprised that he likes them so much. I mean, I've read some of them to him, and they're not really like kid's books at all. Even I like the way she writes!'

'I know what you mean. She writes on a lot of different levels.' Sarah was leafing idly through the page and then reread the inscription. She sighed, frowning slightly. 'Funny, I don't remember it saying that.'

'What?'

'The message. I don't know why – just my imagination.'

'Well, you've had a lot on your mind. Oh!' Karen turned her head sharply. 'There's a car. It must be Robert, at last.' She stood up and disappeared into the hall. Sarah heard the front-door open and then her father's voice.

'I stopped off on my way home and picked up this little handful!'

'Is Sarah here? Where is she?' her brother's high-pitched voice demanded.

Sarah grabbed the book and stuffed it hastily back into the packet, just before the small bundle of energy that was her brother shot through the door and launched itself at her.

'Sarah!' he yelled, almost knocking her off the stool.

'Ooof! You're getting too big for this! How've you been?'

'Fine!' He wriggled into a comfortable position on her lap. He gazed up at her, blonde hair tumbling into his eyes. His eyes. It had happened so gradually that no one had even noticed at first, but eventually Karen had. When they had taken Toby to the doctor he had told them that while it was very rare for a child's eyes to change colour so late in his development, it wasn't unheard of. And so the change had continued – but what was even stranger was the fact that each eye had become a different colour. As Sarah looked down at him now, she gasped slightly. It was always a shock to see those eyes staring back at her, so innocently, like a constant reminder. One was a shifting blue-grey, the other hazel flecked with green and gold.

'What's that?' He had spotted the package on the bar.

'Your present,' Sarah replied, lowering her voice mysteriously. Toby's eyes widened.

'Can I see it?' he whispered breathlessly.

'Not until Sunday. It's bad luck to see a present before it's due.'

Toby nodded solemnly. If that was what Sarah said, then it must be true.

'Don't I get a hug, too?' A voice asked from the doorway.

'Hi, Dad,' Sarah extricated herself from Toby as her father walked toward her.

'It's nice to have you back,' he said, embracing her. 'How's-' he started and then noticed, over Sarah's head, that Karen was shaking her head frantically and mouthing 'No!'

'How's, um, work?' he concluded.

Sarah laughed. 'It's fine, Dad. Thanks.' She gave Karen a grateful look, guessing what had happened.

'Well,' her father rubbed his hands together. 'The Williams family is all together again, I think that the celebrations should start here!'

Sarah gazed happily at her family. Karen was quizzing Toby about the ice-cream stains on his shirt, while Sarah's father had slipped his arm around her shoulder.

'It's really good to have you home, sweetheart,' he whispered.


	2. Run for the Shadows

The world was falling down around her. She was standing on the only firm piece of land, surrounded by crumbling ruins and the vast expanse of space. How many times had she been here? How many nights had she returned to this place, re-lived this moment? Jareth was in front of her. He looked… He looked incredibly tired, she realised. Exhausted, in fact. Even in her dream state, Sarah wondered why she had never noticed that before. He was talking to her, but she could not hear what he was saying. Her head was filled with the words from the play, the words that would get Toby back. But this wasn't a play – this was real. The stars glowed brilliantly in the purple-streaked sky, and a soft breeze rippled through her hair. Sarah looked back at Jareth again. There was so much pain and loneliness in the depths of his eyes. Suddenly, the voice inside her head fell silent – it was as though someone had turned a radio off, and the pure, natural sounds could finally come through to her. A flicker of emotion, almost like hope, crossed Jareth's face. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak.

Sarah was suddenly plunged into darkness and then emerged, gasping for breath and gazing wildly around her. It took some moments before she remembered where she was. In her old room, back at home. Alone. There was no Goblin King, nor anyone else, there. Sarah lay back on her pillow; the dream was still vivid enough for her to recall it exactly. It didn't make any sense. She could remember perfectly well what Jareth had said to her then. When he had tried to convince her to take the crystal. But she had never noticed his face before. Sarah sat up in bed. Whenever she had recalled that moment before, she had always been too wrapped up in her own thoughts to pay that much attention to the way he had looked at that moment. But she knew what he had said.

' _No you didn't,'_ a voice spoke in her head. _'You heard the words, but you didn't listen to what he was saying. You never tried to understand.'_

Sarah threw back the bedclothes and got up, as though she could leave behind the disagreeable voice of her subconscious at the same time. Now that she was up, she became more aware of her surroundings. There was the sound of a radio coming, very faintly, from one of the downstairs rooms, and the low buzz of someone's lawnmower nearby. And then the thudding of feet up the stairs and Toby calling her name. This was immediately followed by their father's voice saying:

'Shhh, let your sister sleep!'

More muffled voices and then two pairs of feet going down the stairs. Sarah sat at the dressing table and began to brush her hair absent-mindedly. She glanced into the mirror, half expecting to see Hoggle and the others, but the mirror was empty. They had always come when she called them, and sometimes they just came. Usually when she was expecting them the least. She threw her hairbrush down angrily. The one person whom she had never seen since was Jareth. And he was the one who kept invading her thoughts at any and every available opportunity. Although, she admitted grudgingly, it really wasn't something that she could blame him for. Sarah buried her head in her hands.

' _Maybe there is such a thing as the one, true, love of your life. But even if there is, most people will never find it.'_

But what if you did find it, and you threw it away? The thought had barely formed itself in Sarah's mind before she pushed it away again. With firm, decisive movements, Sarah pinned up her hair and pulled some clothes out of her bag.

* * *

She observed the man carefully. He didn't know that she was watching him – he would only know that if she wanted him to. He, in turn, was closely watching something else. He was staring, somewhat despondently, into the depths of a crystal. She couldn't see the image inside the spinning globe, but she already knew what it would be. After all, it was always the same thing. There was an expression of such indescribable pain and loss in his face that it almost broke her heart to see it. For a moment she indulged in feeling utter rage: rage at him for putting himself through all of this, and rage at the person who was the cause of it. But her anger was short-lived, soon replaced by concern. She dismissed the image and turned her active mind toward searching for a solution for this problem.

* * *

In the scheme of things, it probably wasn't the world's most exciting weekend: driving into town to do some shopping, having lunch in a café with her parents and Toby. Keeping Toby occupied while her Dad and Karen picked up his birthday cake. And then the long, lazy afternoon lying out in the garden reading the papers. Sarah sighed happily, raising her face to the sun – it was exactly what she had needed. The break-up with Sam already felt like a distant memory.

' _I'm sure that ex-boyfriends are supposed to mean more to you than that,'_ she thought to herself. _'Hmm, then again, maybe not!'_ She smiled to herself and rolled over, pillowing her cheek on her arms. The sun felt warm on her back and she stretched out luxuriously, smothering a yawn. The breeze wafted over her with a fresh, sweet scent that reminded her of peaches and she inhaled deeply. Her mind drifted lazily. She heard, from somewhere, the echoes of a melodic, romantic tune, but her mind drifted out beyond the sun-drenched garden where she lay. In her half-conscious state, Sarah felt as though she were spinning – revolving slowly in time to the music. She was as light as air, whirling in the darkness. And then someone's arms closed around her, their body moving with hers in perfect synchronicity. Something in Sarah's mind told her that she should feel afraid, that she should try to run away. But it felt so right, so normal. Instead of struggling against him, Sarah let out a sigh and relaxed into the embrace, allowing herself to be guided through the intricate steps of a familiar dance. She waited for the moment when she could see him, for when he would say her name and she could look into his eyes.

'Sarah.'

She gasped slightly hearing his voice, amazed by the fact that that one, simple sound had the power to knock the breath out of her.

'Sa-rah.'

She frowned. It didn't quite sound like him anymore … and it was coming from very far away…

'Sarah!'

The whirling suddenly stopped and the comforting, warm darkness shattered around her. Blinking, Sarah rolled onto her back and gazed upwards, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand. Her father was bending over her.

'You'll sleep your life away at this rate!' he said. 'There's a phone call for you. Something to do with the theatre, I think.'

It took Sarah a few moments to get her bearings again. The sensation of being held had been so vivid; the emotions so intense, that she could not quite believe that she had simply dreamed it. Sarah stood up slowly, following her father back into the house. Had she dreamed it? Or was she simply remembering past events in a different light?

'Are you all right?' her father had stopped walking and was looking at her, his eyes full of concern. 'You look a bit…' he trailed off and shrugged helplessly. While he loved his daughter very much, he had never been able to communicate with her as well as he would have liked. It had come as a huge relief when Sarah and Karen had started to grow closer.

'I'm fine, Dad. Just a bit groggy still, that's all.'

He took hold of her hand and squeezed it. 'If you're upset about Sam-'

Sarah shook her head. 'No, I'm not. It's okay – it really doesn't bother me that much. Sometimes these things just don't work out, y'know?' She couldn't quite bring herself to tell him that when he had mentioned Sam, her first thought had been: 'Who?' Before she had remembered who he was.

He looked at his daughter critically for a moment, but couldn't find a trace of distress. There was a strange shadow in her eyes that appeared from time to time, but which he had never quite been able to put a name to. It wasn't unhappiness exactly. It was more like melancholy or nostalgia… He met her eyes again. It was gone, and she was smiling at him.

'I'd better get that call! It'll end up costing a fortune!'

The person on the other end of the phone was Miranda, the director of the theatre company and effectively Sarah's boss.

'Sarah! How's the weekend at home?' she asked effusively.

' _I wonder if I sound that theatrical when I'm on the phone?'_ Sarah wondered briefly.

'It's great, thanks, Miranda.'

'Oh good. That's _good_!' Miranda's voice continued. Sarah smiled to herself – Miranda was the sort of person whom her father would sum up with a single word. Arty.

'Listen, Sarah, we've hit a bit of a snag. We've lost the venue for next week.'

'Oh no! But why? I mean, we signed the contracts and…'

'I know, I know. It isn't actually anybody's fault.' She heard Miranda heave a great sigh. 'An underground water-pipe burst and it knocked out all of the electrics in the theatre. Then when they were trying to sort all of that out, the technicians discovered that whole sections needed to be re-wired. Oh, and, er, there isn't actually any running water in the building,' Miranda concluded dryly. 'Which could pose a bit of a problem come the interval.'

Sarah smiled wryly. 'Yeah, I can see it now. So what's happening with the production? Are we looking for somewhere else?'

'No. I spoke with the theatre management earlier and they said that as we've already signed everything and paid them a deposit, we can go ahead next week just as soon as the theatre re-opens. They're even willing to refund part of the deposit as a sign of goodwill.'

'You're kidding! _They're_ actually offering to give _us_ money?' She asked incredulously.

'I know. So, in a way, it's worked out better for us. Anyway, if you want to take the rest of the week at home, go ahead. There isn't anything that we can do for the next few days – I'll only want to run it a few times next weekend to get everyone freshened up again.'

Sarah winced slightly. Miranda's idea of 'freshening people up' usually resulted in everyone feeling so drained they needed to sleep for a week. But she was giving them a whole week off.

'Thanks, Miranda. I really appreciate it.'

'I'll give you a call in a couple of days to let you know what's going on. Have a good week, darling. Bye!'

Sarah replaced the phone. The prospect of having so much free time unexpectedly given to her was suddenly a little daunting. She had grown so used to running around, trying to keep up with her life, that she had almost forgotten how to do nothing. That feeling, however, didn't last long, and within a few minutes she had dreamt up a thousand schemes for the coming week. Maybe she could even spend a couple of days at the beach. Toby would like that – if Karen would let her take him. Sarah came out of her reverie and noticed the clock in the hallway. It was getting close to suppertime, and she still had to take a shower. She started for the stairs, her mind still going over all the possibilities of what she could do with herself. Her Dad and Karen would be pleased – it was a while since she had spent so much time at home. She paused on the turning of the stairs on the first floor. It was a pity that she hadn't known all of this earlier: they might have been able to all go away together. Still, you never knew.

' _I really have to stop standing around day-dreaming!'_ she told herself fiercely.

She was about to move again, when there was a hollow, musical, clinking sound and something hard knocked against her foot. Sarah glanced down and then stared in disbelief at what she was seeing.

'What-' she gasped.

' _It's a crystal, nothing more. But if you turn it this way, and look into it, it will show you your dreams.'_

Part of Sarah's brain screamed at her to pick it up, but she still stood, rooted to the spot like a statue. Toby came bounding out of his room, his eyes immediately alighting on the crystal globe at his sister's feet.

'Sarah! You'll stand on it!' he said reproachfully, before retrieving the item and turning back into his room. Sarah followed him mechanically. She had never asked Toby whether he remembered his time in the Labyrinth. She wasn't certain what frightened her more – the idea that he would remember, or the idea that he wouldn't. Sarah stood in the doorway of his room.

'Knock, knock,' she said.

Toby, sitting on his bed, smiled up at her.

'Mind if I come in?'

He shook his head and Sarah entered the room, closing the door behind her.

'Hey, I remember this!' she said, looking at poster on his wall. It was Escher's Relativity; the same one that had once hung in Sarah's room. Toby had appropriated it when they had been going through the boxes of her things in the attic.

'Yeah, it's pretty cool,' Toby admitted.

'I thought so,' Sarah replied. She turned to face her brother and found him staring wistfully at the poster.

'You know, sometimes I … I have the strangest dream,' he said.

'Oh? What is it?' Sarah asked carefully, seating herself next to him.

'Well…' Toby looked a little uncomfortable. 'Promise you won't laugh?'

She smiled. 'I promise.'

Toby took a deep breath and plunged into his story. 'Well, sometimes I dream that I'm … that I'm in the painting.'

Sarah sat very still, scarcely breathing.

'There're stairways everywhere, and I'm actually going up one, but it's upside down. And I think, but I'm not sure, I think that there's someone chasing after me. They're looking everywhere for me, and they want to take me away, but I don't want to go. I want to stay there, in the staircase room'

'Do you remember anything else?' Sarah asked, fighting to keep her voice level. 'Is there anyone else there? Do you know who it is who's chasing you?'

Toby shrugged. He still had the crystal in his hands and was playing with it, his fingers moving dexterously over the surface.

'How long have you had that?' she asked.

'Oh, Sarah, I've had it forever!' He rolled his eyes.

'Where did you get it?'

He frowned for a moment. 'Didn't you give it to me?'

'No, honey, I didn't.'

He shrugged again. 'Dunno then.'

She could picture the moment with absolute clarity – Jareth standing on the edge of one of the platforms in the Escher room, throwing a crystal into the abyss below (or above, depending on which way up you were standing at the time). It had gone bouncing along the staircases, finally coming to rest next to Toby. Had he picked it up? She couldn't remember anymore. Sarah felt the rush of air as she had launched herself into the abyss, falling down through that timeless space.

'Sarah, are you okay?' Toby was staring at her anxiously, his mismatched eyes shifting colour in the early evening light.

'Yeah, I'm fine. 'Course I am.' She leaned back so that she was resting against the wall. 'Are you looking forward to your birthday?'

He nodded enthusiastically. 'Uh-huh! You'd better've bought me a good present!' he added.

Sarah's eyes widened. 'Oh yeah? You'll be lucky to get anything off me if you carry on like that!'

'But you're hardly ever here,' Toby put in reasonably. 'So you have to make it up to me when you are.'

'I think I can safely say that you'll like this one very much,' she answered, smiling.

'Good.'

Her eyes wandered over his room, some of the objects in it she remembered as having once resided in hers – most notably the now battered bear on Toby's bed that went by the name of Lancelot. On the bedside table was a pile of books, most of them by Delaine King. Sarah smiled to herself at the sight of them. She stretched over lazily and picked up the one on top.

'That's a good one,' Toby said enthusiastically, swivelling round to see what she was doing.

'What's it about?'

'Goblins,' he replied, his eyes glowing. 'See,' he pointed to a creature on the jacket, 'that's one.'

'Oh yeah … except that Goblins don't really look like that,' Sarah said.

'How do you know?' Toby demanded.

'How…? Oh, er…' Sarah kicked herself. The words had slipped out without her even thinking about it. 'Well, I…I don't. I mean…they just don't look the way I think Goblin's would look.'

Toby nodded, frowning.

'Sarah…'

There was a questioning note in his voice and she braced herself for whatever was coming next.

'Do you believe in Goblins and things? I don't mean the way Mom and Dad say they do, but they don't really.' His face held a mixture of anxiety and hope. 'I mean do you really believe?'

Sarah held his eyes with her own, holding a brief debate with herself. 'Yes. I do believe in Goblins and fairies and all of that. So don't ever let anyone tell you any different – you don't have to argue with them, just know it in your heart, okay?'

'I wish I could see a Goblin,' he muttered, staring back at the crystal globe.

' _You very nearly_ were _a Goblin,'_ Sarah thought, but successfully stopped herself from saying it out loud. 'You never know,' she replied consolingly, 'sometimes the most unexpected things can happen.'

She glanced at her watch. 'Hey, we'd better get going! It's almost time for supper. I just need to get changed, so I'll see you downstairs, yeah?'

Sarah slid off the bed and walked to the door. She had just opened it when Toby's voice called her back.

'Sarah…' he was frowning anxiously again. 'You really do believe?'

She paused in the doorway, regarding him thoughtfully. 'Of course I do.' She suddenly laughed. 'After all, I once danced with the Goblin King!'

She disappeared down the corridor, leaving Toby staring after her.


	3. Under Pressure

The two images, trapped in their crystal balls, flitted around the room. In the one she could see a tall, blonde man striding down a winding passageway. In the other, a happy family involved in some sort of celebration. She sighed, her eyes moving from one image to the other, frowning in concentration, before suddenly springing to her feet. The room was comfortable and functional, but plainly furnished. So different from the luxurious, ornate chambers that she had grown up in. Her eyes wandered back to the image of the man – she had always watched him, but had done so more than ever over the past few days. She still couldn't decide what to do. The shrill shriek of the telephone brought her out of her reverie, and for a few moments she gazed around the room, trying to work out what the noise was and where it was coming from. There were still aspects of life here that she had never quite grown used to – and this, she suspected, was destined always to be one of them. She lifted the receiver; her eyes still fixed on the floating crystals, momentarily transfixed by the little boy with the blonde hair falling into his eyes.

* * *

Toby raised his eyes to meet his sister's as he licked the remnants of birthday cake from his fingers.

'What?' he asked.

She grinned at him. 'You have icing on your nose.'

'That's nothing,' he replied, scrubbing at it with the back of his hand. 'You've got some in your hair!'

He laughed gleefully as Sarah jumped up and looked into the mirror.

'Huh. Girls,' he said mockingly. 'Always fussing over what you look like!'

'How old are you? Eighty?' Sarah asked, making a face at him as she combed the flakes of icing out of her hair with her fingers.

He stuck his tongue out at her.

'I saw that!' Karen's voice floated in the air before she and Robert had even entered the room. Toby squinted up at her.

'How could you see me when you were outside?'

'Magic,' his mother answered.

'She could see your reflection in the mirror, brain-box!' Sarah muttered in his ear and ruffled his hair.

'Had a good birthday?' Robert asked him. Toby nodded his head enthusiastically and then, wiping his rather sticky hands on his jeans, launched himself at his new book which was lying on the table,

'You should wash your hands before you start reading that!' Karen warned.

'Just as long as you don't try to read and ride at the same time,' his father added. Their present to Toby had been a new bike. 'That's the sort of thing your sister used to do!'

Sarah smiled over at her father. 'Ha-ha.'

Toby's eyes strayed to the window, a new idea already taking root in his mind. 'Can I go for a ride now? It's still early enough…and I'll keep away from the main road!' he concluded, knowing the words that would automatically spring to his mother's lips.

Karen and Robert exchanged glances.

'Yes, all right,' Karen said. 'But don't be too long. And make sure you wear you reflector jacket!'

'Aw, Mom! It's broad daylight!' he groaned.

Karen started to clear up the dirty plates, but Sarah took them from her hands. 'I'll take care of these. Why don't you sit down and take a bit of a break?'

She smiled at her stepdaughter. 'Thank-you!'

Sarah took the plates and walked into the kitchen. Out of the kitchen window, she could see Toby wheeling his bicycle into the driveway. She smiled as she watched him: he examined it from every angle, gave the wheels a kick and then bent over it, his nose almost resting on its frame as he scrutinised one spot. The same way that their father examined his car, whenever he thought he could see a scratch. _'Men,'_ she thought, rolling her eyes. _'They're all the same.'_

' _I wonder what your basis for comparison is?'_ A mocking voice echoed through her mind.

Sarah shook her head. 'That's quite enough of that!' she said firmly, not fully aware that she had said the words aloud. She filled the sink with warm, soapy water and started to wash the dishes. The suds clung to her hands, catching the light and reflecting back a myriad of shimmering colours.

' _Like so many crystals,'_ she thought.

Admittedly, Jareth had not been like any other man she had ever known. Then again, he hadn't been like any other person she had ever known. In her mind's eye she saw him again, looking as he had during their final encounter. And then when she had said the words… The look on his face. It was beyond disappointment. It was anguish. It was an emotion so strong that she couldn't put a name to it. Everything had gone dark around them and for a few moments, his cloak had billowed in the air before falling to the ground, empty. The scene played in her mind in slow motion, as though she were seeing it frame-by-frame. One second he had been standing in front of her, his eyes penetrating her soul, and then it was as though he had disintegrated. She couldn't have… Sarah swallowed hard. She couldn't have killed him. Surely not. On none of the occasions when she had seen her friends from the Underground had she ever asked about him – and they had never volunteered any information. She had assumed that he was still there, in the castle, spinning his dreams and posing his riddles. The riddles that, according to him, she had never answered and never understood. But now, for the first time, came the terrible thought that she may not have just defeated him, but destroyed him. Sarah felt sick. With both hands, she clung to the edge of the counter, battling for breath.

' _You're behaving like a child,'_ a more rational part of her spoke.

A resolution that she had made, long ago, came back to her. That she would stop crying, gasping, shouting and generally going over the top. She had made it ten years ago, on the night she had realised that it really was time that she started growing up. Sarah righted herself and started drying her hands on the towel, scrubbing so hard that she grazed the skin. It was impossible. He was a powerful sorcerer. But she had said the words…

' _He has no power over me. That doesn't mean that I took away his power over anyone or anything else,'_ she told herself consolingly. Sarah straightened a few things in the kitchen, giving herself time to calm down. She was not going to start with those childhood obsessions again. She was just a little overemotional, that was all. The thought crossed her mind that the break up with Sam had upset her more than she had realised, but she dismissed it with a laugh. It was being back home and seeing Toby again. That always stirred up memories.

Sarah re-entered the lounge and found it empty. Her parents had wandered out into the garden. She watched them for a minute through the open window. Her father had his arm around Karen's waist and was saying something to her. She turned to face him, laughing, and then they continued their slow circuit. Sarah turned away, her eyes travelling over the room; eventually coming to rest on the gift she had given Toby, still lying on the table. He'd be looking for it later. Sarah picked it up and decided to put it by his bed. As she mounted the stairs, she leafed through it idly, her attention caught every now and then by a word or phrase. She reread the inscription and smiled. Toby had gone wild with joy when he had seen it, and had made Sarah tell him every detail of the meeting. You could tell he was getting older, she thought with a wry grin, when one of the first questions he had asked was: 'Is she pretty?' He had then made a great show of pretending not to care in the slightest what the answer was. She turned the page and read the opening line:

'The way forward is sometimes the way back.'

Sarah snapped the book shut and stood, trembling.

* * *

The rain pattered against the windows in intermittent bursts. From the hallway, Sarah heard her stepmother's usually soft voice raised in protest.

'Oh, Toby, really! Take those shoes off before you come into the house!'

Toby pushed his hand through his wet hair, plastering it down to his head.

'Sorry, Mom. I went further than I realised and by the time I started back, it was already raining.'

'Your father and I have been worried sick!' Karen continued.

Toby raised his head to look at his mother, his eyes full of contrition. 'I'm really sorry, Mom.'

Sarah, who had risen from the settee and had been watching the little scene from the doorway, shook her head.

'And I thought I was the one with the acting talent!'

Karen's shoulders relaxed, and her scolding was reduced to a series of mutterings under her breath as she picked up the wet, muddy trainers and pulled Toby's cap off his head.

'You just get up those stairs and get washed. I want every speck of mud removed, Toby!'

Toby bounded up the stairs and Karen noticed Sarah standing there. She rolled her eyes.

'It's the Williams genes. It has to be,' she stated, remembering the countless occasions when Sarah had returned home, dripping wet and hours late.

Sarah knew what Karen was thinking and grinned at her.

Still shaking her head, Karen walked into the kitchen. Sarah was about to go back into the lounge when she heard her name being called.

'Psst! Hey, Sarah!'

Toby's head was poking around the corner, and he was beckoning to her. Sarah ran up the stairs until she was next to him on the landing.

'Well?'

He gave her a mysterious smile. 'Come in here. I want to show you something.'

Sarah followed him into his room. He slipped behind her and shut the door before bouncing onto his bed. He patted the area next to him.

'Come on. Sit down!'

Toby had drawn his jacket towards him and was fishing inside one of the pockets. He pulled something out and held it reverently between his hands. Sarah squinted over his shoulder, trying to see what it was. It looked like a dark, velvet pouch. Once again, he turned to Sarah, his eyes gleaming. He reached into the pouch and pulled something out of it.

'Look!' he breathed, and held it out to Sarah.

It looked like snow globe, mounted on a black base. Inside it was a set of intricately carved doors with minute gargoyles set into them, serving as knockers. Standing in front of the doors, on either side of the globe, were small figures wearing armour. Sarah took the globe from Toby's hands and peered at the tiny figures. Their faces were not human – they were a strange, mottled texture and looked as though they had been squashed.

'Where did you…?' her voice died away as she continued to stare into the heart of the globe.

'I found it,' Toby replied proudly. 'In the park.'

'The park?' Sarah asked sharply, her head jerking toward him.

'Yeah, you know where the bridge is? I go there quite a lot, it's really cool! Anyway, I rode up there and I was just lying on the grass and I heard this thud. So I sat up and looked around…'

Sarah groaned inwardly – it was one of those times when Toby had decided to give her every single detail of the story.

'But I couldn't see anything. So, then, I lay back down and hit my head on something – it was really hard as well, I mean, I could've cracked my skull open!'

'I'll crack your skull open if you don't get on with it!' Sarah replied, her patience fraying.

Toby rewarded her with an indignant glare and for a few seconds fell silent, thinking to punish her by not finishing the story. But that thought was soon overwhelmed by his burning need to tell Sarah what had happened, and so he continued with the tale.

'And there was this bag just lying there. And there really wasn't anyone around,' he added, a worried expression crossing his face. 'I didn't steal it or anything!'

'I never thought that you did,' Sarah replied. 'Go on.'

'Well, that's pretty much it, really. I picked up the bag and looked inside and that was in it.' He nodded toward the globe in Sarah's hands. She examined it again. On the one side of the doors were the gargoyles, and on the other a pair of guards. They looked a bit like playing cards. Toby was pressed up against her, staring intently at the tiny figures standing in front of the doors.

'D'you reckon that's what Goblins really look like?' he asked her avidly.

'Yeah.' Sarah wetted her lips – her mouth had, inexplicably, gone dry. 'Something like that.' As she looked at her brother, he turned to face her and she ended up staring straight into his eyes. The two different colours burned back brightly as her, the expression questioning, slightly challenging. The similarity, which was never wholly absent, now seemed overpowering. Sarah felt the urge to grab hold of her brother and shake him, until the memories that she was starting to believe were buried deep inside of him came out. Something of that must have been written in her face, because as Toby sat looking at her, his expression stopped being questioning and started being nervous.

'Are you okay?' he asked quietly, hoping that Sarah would stop looking at him like that.

'I'm just…' she began slowly.

There was a loud knock on the door, and before either of them could respond, it swung open. Karen stood in the doorway, her arms folded.

'Toby. Did I or did I not tell you to get washed?' she inquired.

Toby's eyes flickered toward his sister, but Sarah simply raised her eyebrows in mute apology.

'Uh-huh.'

'Well, in that case, would you please pick yourself up, take yourself down the hall, and take a shower? Or do you want me to do it for you?'

Toby hesitated for a millisecond.

'I'm going. I'm going! See?' He had started unbuttoning his shirt as he scrambled off the bed.

'You shouldn't encourage him, you know,' Karen added wearily as Sarah stood up.

She managed to force a smile onto her lips. 'Sorry. He was just really excited about his presents.'

Karen sighed. 'Yes. Thank God birthdays are only once a year.'

* * *

Supper had been a noisy, talkative affair. Toby, naturally, had had all of his favourite dishes served up and had given his parents a blow-by-blow account of the handling capabilities of his new bicycle. Minus his experience in the park. Every now and then, throughout the meal, he had caught Sarah's eye, and each time she had felt as though someone else was staring back at her. That penetrating, hawk-like stare. Or should that be owl-like? she wondered idly. For all that Sarah loved her family and loved being back at home, this had felt like one of the longest evenings of her life. She had kept smiling, laughing and joking – mainly for Toby's sake – all the while trying to suppress the maelstrom of thoughts that had been unleashed in her brain. Even after Toby went to bed, she had sat up with her parents, drinking the night-cap her father had insisted on making for her. It was with a huge sense of relief that she had finally been able to take herself back upstairs to her room.

'Goodnight!' she called cheerfully as Karen and Robert passed her room on their way to their own. With a fixed smile still in place, Sarah closed her door, and then slumped against it, all of the energy draining out of her. After a few moments in that position, while she had revelled in the sudden and complete silence, Sarah pushed herself away from the door, and walked across to her bed. It was still the same old bed with the canopy that she had had for years. It felt tiny compared to the double bed she had in her apartment, but there was always the sense that she had come home whenever she slept in it. She lay on her back and stared up at the ceiling. For the past few days, she had been fighting against the thoughts and memories that had assailed her at every turn, but now, at last, she gave into them. The familiar pictures drifted before her eyes, the sounds echoed in her ears. But it was different somehow. Or rather, to be precise, Jareth was different. No matter how she pictured him, he just didn't seem as evil as she had always remembered him to be. She recalled the moment when he had first appeared before her: commanding, intimidating. And yet the expression on his face had been one of amusement, almost fondness.

' _Yeah, right before he flung a snake at you!'_ part of her subconscious grumbled.

Yes! He had tried to frighten her from the very beginning. But then again, the snake had turned into a scarf and a small, furry Goblin. Sarah rolled onto her side, drawing her knees up to her chest.

' _And he stole Toby! He would've turned that sweet baby into a Goblin!'_

But only because she had asked him to, Sarah thought. And if she were completely honest with herself, she hadn't thought Toby to be particularly sweet until she had lost him. Actually, he still drove her crazy at times, but she wouldn't exchange him for anything.

' _Let me rule you, and you can have everything you want. Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave!'_

Huh! What kind of offer was that?

Another memory, this time of a friend's wedding that she had attended a few months before.

' _Will you love, honour and obey?'_

Sarah suddenly sat bolt upright. He couldn't have meant that! Could he? She leapt off the bed and began pacing the floor. He had held her so gently in the ballroom, speaking to her of dreams. And pain and sadness, she recalled. And love. What would someone like that know about love? He was every bit as evil, arrogant and selfish as you expect a Goblin King to be.

' _I am exhausted from living up to your expectations of me!'_

Sarah paced feverishly; she was starting to feel claustrophobic in her small room. He had behaved precisely how she had imagined him to behave. She hesitated in mid-pace. Maybe he had behaved like that because it was the way she had imagined him to. She saw, again, his face when she had said the words – the longing and the frustration. The crystal, which had held her dreams, he had tossed into the air. She never had seen what was actually inside it. And then it had all finished. Sarah closed her eyes and remembered the sudden fear that had gripped her earlier. But Toby's globe… It was as though he had read her mind, and was letting her know that he was still there. But it could just be a coincidence, and the figures might remind her of the Labyrinth only because she wanted them to. And why should she care whether or not Jareth was still alive?

' _Of course he's still alive!'_ the answer snapped back.

But the feeling of unease didn't leave her. Sarah moved across to her dressing table and sat down. As she looked into the mirror, inspiration hit her. She could call Hoggle! Then she could ask him what had happened to Jareth, and she could set her mind at rest. Although, she had to admit, that was dependent upon Hoggle actually answering her questions, instead of evading them. Perhaps Didymus would be better. But the chance of her being able to get a word in edgeways was debatable. Or she could…

She could call Jareth.

Sarah felt her breath catch in her throat at the thought. He would only laugh at her, mock her for it. But she would see him with her own eyes. But would he even come if she called him? The others always had, and she had confessed openly that she had needed all of them in her life. Except for Jareth. Yet he had always been on the edges of her thoughts, or haunting her dreams. The confused mass of thoughts that had been seething in her mind for so long suddenly united in one, resounding decision. She had to see him again. She had to call him. Perhaps he wouldn't answer, but she had to try. Sarah stared at her reflection, searching for the correct phrase that would summon him, waiting for the magical words to spring into her mind. Perhaps she should just say aloud exactly what it was that she wanted. Sarah took a deep breath. Something flickered behind her, and a breeze stirred her hair.

'Hello, Sarah.'


	4. Back Down Where You Once Belonged

Sarah didn't move for a moment. She couldn't. At the sound of those words, that voice, her heart had almost stopped beating. Eventually she began to stir, slowly twisting round in her seat until she could see the man standing behind her. He was standing near the window, slightly in the shadows, so that for the moment Sarah couldn't see his eyes. The dim lamplight picked out the golden streaks in his hair, which still fell around his shoulders, and glinted against the faint metallic sheen of his cloak. It was him, there was no question of that. But even so, Sarah still ventured, questioningly:

'Jareth?'

He smiled slightly. 'Whom else did you expect?'

He stepped fully into the light and Sarah caught her breath in surprise. He looked younger than she remembered, and for a few moments she was at a loss as to how that was possible. But then, she reasoned to herself, he probably wasn't mortal, so he would have stayed the same even though she had grown older.

'It's surprising how different things appear in later years, isn't it?' he asked pleasantly, as if he had been reading her thoughts.

'Yes,' Sarah replied briefly, her eyes still travelling over him.' I didn't think… I didn't know if you'd answer when I-' she broke off, frowning. 'Hang on, I didn't call you! I was about to, but I didn't-'

'Oh come now, Sarah!' he exclaimed impatiently, staring down at her. 'Don't you think that we are beyond all of that? Do you really think that I wouldn't know when you wanted to see me? That I wasn't waiting for when you'd be ready to see me again?' His voice dropped, softening in tone so that it brushed against her ears like velvet.

'Waiting?' Sarah caught at his last words. 'You've been waiting? For … for me?'

This time, it was his eyes that travelled over her. There was something in their depths. Something like hunger. But Sarah didn't quite catch their expression; she was too mesmerised by the eyes themselves. The two shifting, conflicting colours that burnt so brightly in his face, and that had seemed to possess the ability to look directly into her soul. And the face itself, so perfectly sculpted, so beautiful, yet so earthily handsome at the same time. He smiled slightly at her, but his face betrayed nothing.

'Yes, waiting for you. I've been watching over you, Sarah. Watching as you conjured your dreams … you once rejected my offer to show them to you. Do you remember?'

Remember? She had spent the last few days – no, the last few years – doing nothing but remember. Even when she had ruthlessly suppressed them, the memories had still danced tantalisingly in front of her eyes. And then lately … lately there had been that feeling that perhaps, after all, she had not understood quite so much about her experience in the Labyrinth as she had previously thought. And more specifically, she had not understood as much about Jareth as she had thought. She looked up at him again. He seemed different, but where exactly that difference lay, she couldn't quite tell. Something in his face. Something in the way he looked at her. He was very still as he stood in front of her. She knew that he was watching her carefully, even though his expression appeared almost completely blank.

'For someone who has been waiting for all of this time, you don't appear to be very interested now that you're here,' she said suddenly.

Jareth smiled at her again.

'I am only here because you wanted me to be. I don't know what it is that you want of me, and until I know that I am not going to impose my own…emotions onto you.'

'It didn't stop you the last time,' Sarah retorted, the old anger flaring up in her again. 'Besides, I only wanted to make sure that I hadn't killed you or something like that.'

'Ah. Well, now that you have seen the proof with your own eyes, do you wish for me to leave?'

'No!'

The word sprang to her lips before she had had a chance to think about it. She could have left it there. As Jareth had pointed out, she had now seen him and so any fears that she may have had would be put to rest. He would be out of her life. But the image of those final moments, when he had slowly vanished in front of her eyes, taking her crystal dreams with him, came into her mind once more. In that moment, Sarah realised that she could not go through that again. Last time, she had been a teenager – little more than a girl, really – who had wished her brother away. This time she was an adult, meeting Jareth on equal terms. She had defeated him and there was nothing that he could do to her. It was her choice whether he remained or departed.

'I … I don't want you to go. Not yet.'

His body had been turned toward the window, and now he twisted around to look at her again. He still said nothing, refusing to make this moment any easier for her. Sarah took a deep breath.

'Lately I've had the feeling that…or rather, I've been thinking that the last time we met I-' She broke off and ran her hand through her hair impatiently. 'What I'm trying to say is that I've come to realise that I didn't understand everything that happened in the Labyrinth, and I want to understand. And…' her voice faltered again as she met his eyes a little shyly. 'And I think that you're the only person who can help me understand it all.'

Jareth continued to watch her, but he started to move toward her very slowly. There was a subtle change in his face; something akin to excitement was stealing across his features.

'Do you mean that, Sarah? Really?'

His voice was so soft and gentle that Sarah felt a sudden tightening in her chest.

'Yes. I do mean it. I…I need you to help me understand, Jareth.'

Jareth nodded slowly, still drawing ever nearer until he was standing over her, gazing down into her face.

'If you truly wish to understand, then there is only one place where that will be possible. You know that, don't you?'

He had stretched out one gloved hand and, very gently, ran a finger down the side of her face.

Sarah swallowed hard. Somewhere, deep down, she had always known that she was destined to return to the Underground. She had seen it countless times in her dreams and in her fondest imaginings she had pictured herself back there. Now was her opportunity, and despite the fact that for so long Sarah had told herself that Jareth was the villain of the piece, it seemed natural that it was him who was taking her back. The colours of his mismatched eyes shifted, just the way Toby's did when the light hit them, and she felt as though they were directly into her soul, demanding a decision from her.

'I'm ready to go back,' Sarah stated.

Once again, that enigmatic smile flickered at the corners of his mouth.

'Good.'

The air around them rippled slightly, as though space and time had come to an unexpected halt and then restarted. The walls of Sarah's bedroom had vanished and in their place were stone, marble and heavy tapestries.

'Welcome back, Sarah.'

Jareth's voice came from behind her. She turned to face him and her eyes widened in surprise at his change in appearance. A few seconds ago he had been clad in deep, midnight black. Now he was in white and grey with – as always – the amulet around his neck.

'I didn't realise that you meant right this second,' she replied, trying to get her bearings again. 'Although I should've known, I suppose. How long are you going to keep me here?'

He frowned slightly. 'You are free to leave whenever you wish, Sarah. You are not here against your will, and no one has the power to keep you here. But as you told me that this is what you wanted, I saw little point in delaying it.'

He was being, Sarah told herself, incredibly reasonable. There was still that aura of arrogance about him, but so far he had not attempted to frighten her, or even to intimidate her. Even when he had been standing over her, there had been something very tender in his look. Sarah nodded vaguely at his words of reassurance and allowed her eyes to travel over the room they were standing in. It was large, with high ceilings and a cool marble floor, upon which were thick, luxurious rugs. A set of french windows opened out onto a balcony that was laden with sweet-scented flowers. Sarah glanced back at Jareth and then stepped out onto the balcony. It overlooked ornamental gardens, which were filled with intricate hedges and exquisitely crafted fountains. At the extreme left-hand side, Sarah could make out the beginnings of the Goblin City. But on the horizon, stretching out as far as she could see in every direction, lay the Labyrinth itself. It looked, if anything, even larger and more imposing than it had the last time. Sarah shook her head slightly as she looked at it, marvelling to herself how she had ever managed to traverse that immense, undulating web of pathways and passages.

'I could have been killed,' she thought to herself incredulously. And yet she had taken up the challenge with barely a second thought. What happens, she wondered, to that arrogant courage of childhood? Sarah wondered vaguely if she would be capable of such bravery again.

'You were very brave.' She hadn't been aware that Jareth had joined her on the balcony, and at the sound of his voice, she started slightly. 'I admired that. You were a very worthy adversary, Sarah. I watched you, you know, every step of the way. You were astounding.'

Sarah felt a faint smile twitch the corners of her mouth and turned away from him, wondering if her really did have the ability to read her thoughts. She looked out across the Labyrinth again and realised, for the first time, that it was sunset. It had been a little after midnight in her parent's house – time worked differently in the Underground. The whole view was tinged with a reddish-gold light that only heightened the dramatic beauty of the Labyrinth. Sarah smothered a yawn. It had already been a very long day, and at this rate, it would be even longer.

'You must be tired,' Jareth observed, a note of concern in his voice. 'You should rest. There will be plenty of time for understanding tomorrow.'

He offered her his arm and after a second's hesitation, Sarah took it, allowing herself to be guided through the myriad passageways of Jareth's castle. It was, she thought as they walked, remarkably quiet. Every now and then they would pass a doorway and Sarah would catch a glimpse of large, ornate rooms. But there was never anyone in them. She wondered vaguely where all of the Goblins were, but most thoughts were driven out of her head by the sensation of Jareth's arm supporting hers.

'I hope that this meets with your approval,' Jareth said pleasantly, stopping abruptly outside of a heavy wooden door that was covered in ornate engravings. He pushed it open and released Sarah's arm, ushering her inside. Sarah gasped slightly as she looked around. Many candles lighted the room and the air held a sweet scent that came, Sarah realised, from the masses of flowers that were standing in vases on every available surface. Soft white curtains billowed out from the open window, which in turn gave onto a large balcony similar to the one they had just come from.

'When did you… How did you…?' She turned large, amazed eyes upon him.

'Magic,' Jareth replied, waving a hand in the air. 'Before you retire, would you do me the honour of drinking with me?'

He indicated a low table that bore a decanter and two glasses. Sarah, half-amused and half-flattered by his courtly formality replied gravely, 'I would love to.'

Jareth poured out the liquid and then handed one of the glasses to Sarah.

'To your return,' he said, touching his glass against hers.

Sarah smiled in reply and raised the glass to her lips. The liquid inside smelt both warm and cool at the same time, and Sarah closed her eyes. Jareth watched her as she drank, his eyes narrowing slightly. Only when she was finished did he take a small sip from his own glass.

'I will leave you now,' he said. 'Sleep well, Sarah. Tomorrow will hold many surprises, I think.'

'Goodnight, Jareth,' she replied.

The door closed behind him, and Sarah let out a long breath. She had not been aware of the slight tension in her body, but now that she was alone, she felt herself slump slightly. Not surprising really – after all, when she had got up that morning she had never guessed that she would find herself back in the Underground. She looked about the room in which she found herself. It was vast, but comfortable. In a sudden, childlike wave of excitement, Sarah stretched out her arms and started spinning until she almost fell over, laughing out loud. She staggered slightly, breathless and with her head in a whirl. The scent of the flowers was almost intoxicating and Sarah was suddenly aware of a feeling of utter peace and contentment.

* * *

The early morning light stole through the slightly open curtains and touched the face of the young woman lying in the bed. She stirred slightly, rolling over and pulling a pillow into her arms, snuggling up against it. It was still some after that before Sarah began to wake up. She opened her eyes lazily, not really seeing what was around her. There was a haze of thoughts and images in her head, semi-dreams that she couldn't quite remember. The image of a crystal globe floated across her consciousness – that and a pair of mismatched eyes.

'Dreaming of Jareth again,' she thought.

Sarah blinked, here own eyes starting to focus on her surroundings. She sucked her breath in sharply at the sudden realisation that she was not in her own room. She sat up and looked around as memories of the previous night came flooding back. The thought that she must have been crazy to place herself in his hands again reared up in her mind, but was banished within a second. She still had that peaceful, content feeling, even though her head did feel a little strange. It wasn't sore; it was more like detachment. Sarah lay back and stretched luxuriously in the bed. The window was still slightly open, and a fresh breeze was gently playing with the curtains. Sarah threw back the bedclothes and stepped out onto the balcony. Her view from here was much the same as the one she had seen last night. Sarah leaned on the stone support, trying to work out exactly where she was. They seemed to have walked for a long time last night, but without having really moved that far from where they had been. But then, she mused to herself, Jareth could probably rotate the entire castle – or even the Labyrinth itself – if he wanted a different view. She gave up trying to figure it out – her brain didn't seem to want to solve problems anyway. It was too busy lingering over the sight of the gardens and the scent of the cool, fresh air. Sarah herself lingered, gazing out at the light haze that rested on the horizon, partially hiding the immensity of the Labyrinth. She was still day dreaming when she heard a voice calling her name. Looking down, she saw Jareth standing on one of the terraces, looking up at her.

'Breakfast is almost ready,' he called up to her. 'Will you dress and come down?'

Sarah recalled the twisting passageways that lay outside her door. 'I don't know the way!' she called back.

'I will be with you in a few moments to escort you down,' he answered. He walked toward the castle and disappeared from view.

Sarah had only just finished dressing when she heard a light tap on the door. Jareth stood on the threshold, his eyes raking over her as she stood before him. He was still treating her with the utmost gallantry, and Sarah accepted his arm once more as he whisked her through the corridors. The sunlight seemed almost unnaturally warm and bright when they finally reached the outside, and once again the heady scent of flowers threatened to overpower her. A table had been prepared on one of the terraces and Jareth seated her at it. It was laid with a simple breakfast of fruits and exotic looking pastries.

'Sarah,' Jareth began, as they helped themselves to the spread, 'there is something that I want to tell you before anything else happens.'

She looked at him expectantly.

'As I have already said, you are a guest here in the Underground, and so you are free to come and go as you like. You may go anywhere you like within the castle grounds and the Goblin City, but I must ask you to keep away from the Labyrinth. There are many…dangers in there-'

'You don't need to tell me that !' Sarah broke in.

'You know less than you think of the Labyrinth,' there was a hint of coldness in his voice, the sudden change in his tone distracted Sarah to the extent that she failed to notice the faint, malicious glitter in his eyes. 'The dangers that you encountered are nothing compared to some of what lies out there!'

Sarah frowned, her chin raising slightly in that familiar attitude of defiance. 'But-'

'I am only speaking out of concern for you welfare, Sarah,' his voice dropped back to it's velvety, seductive tones. He looked at her pleadingly. 'I could not bear for you to be…damaged in any way. If you wish to go anywhere in the Labyrinth I will take you myself, but I ask you not to wander in there on your own.'

'All right,' she said softly. 'I promise I won't go into the Labyrinth alone.'

Jareth sat back in his chair, a pleased smile hovering over his mouth. They continued their breakfast in a pleasant manner, Sarah observing Jareth carefully when he wasn't looking. She didn't notice him watching her, or the strange look that crept into his eyes when he did so. It was toward the end of the meal that Sarah suddenly spoke up again.

'Jareth, there is something that I would like. I would, while I'm here, very much like to see Hoggle.'

Jareth looked a little taken aback by her request. 'Hoggle…you want to see the Dwarf?'

'I haven't seen him, or any of them for a while now, and like to while I'm actually in the Underground. You don't mind, do you?' she added, noticing that he was still hesitating.

'Mind? No…no, of course not! You can see Hoggle whenever you wish.'

Sarah smiled happily and twisted around in her chair, looking over at the castle behind them. It looked quite pretty with the sunlight playing over it and the green gardens surrounding it. Sarah folded her hands on the back of her chair and rested her chin on them. She had the feeling that she was going to enjoy her second visit to the Underground far more than she had her first.

* * *

Sarah felt as though she was floating as they walked through the Goblin City, and then down into the Labyrinth. Her feet really were connecting with the ground, but she had the sensation that she was actually skimming along about a foot off the ground. After breakfast, Jareth had left Sarah to wander around the gardens, but now he was taking her through the Labyrinth itself. She looked about curiously, wondering if she would recognise any of the places that they passed.

'Well, Sarah, you wished to see your friend Hoggle. There he is,' Jareth said suddenly.

They had stopped in a courtyard that was in ivy and tiny white flowers around all of its walls. Working his way along the walls was Hoggle, engaged in the same activity as when Sarah had first met him, that is, getting rid of Fairies. Jareth smiled slightly to himself.

'Why don't I leave the two of you alone?' he enquired smoothly and melted into the air.

Sarah stood for a few moments longer, and then called softly, 'Hoggle!'

The little man turned around, and Sarah found herself looking into the craggy, weather-beaten face of her old friend. With a laugh of delight, Sarah ran over to him and fell to her knees, flinging her arms around the Dwarf's neck.

'Oh, Hoggle, it's so good to see you again!'

Hoggle, however, did not respond but merely stood somewhat limply in her embrace. Sarah pulled away from him and stared searchingly into his face.

'Hello, Sarah,' he said dully.

'Hoggle … Are you all right?' Even within those few seconds, and in her elated mood, Sarah had noticed the strangeness of her friend's behaviour. A sudden inspiration struck her. 'Don't worry, Hoggle. I asked Jareth to bring me back here. I wanted to come, I'm going to be staying here for a while.'

Hoggle nodded. 'Yes, I know all about that. Jareth told me.'

He turned away from her and continued spraying. 'Damn Fairies,' he muttered as another one fell to the ground.

Sarah remained kneeling, watching him with growing incredulity. Hoggle had always been rather gruff, but he had been a good friend to her and whenever he had come to visit he had always seemed genuinely pleased to see her. Admittedly, their meetings had become less frequent, and she had been so busy with work that she had not called upon him or any of the others for some months. But she had never forgotten any of them, not for a second.

'Hoggle, I'm sorry that I haven't seen you for a while, it's just that I've been really…' the words died on her lips.

Hoggle had turned around and was staring at her. He shrugged slightly. 'You got your life over there; I got mine in the Underground. You'll come when you'll come, and that's an end to it.'

'Aren't you pleased to see me?' Sarah asked, aware that she sounded like a petulant child, but unable to stop herself from saying the words.

'I've seen you before,' he replied. 'Ain't nothing to get excited about.'

Another Fairy drifted downwards with a faint sigh.

'That'll do for in here,' Hoggle said, resting the spray over his shoulder. 'I guess I'll be seeing you 'round then.'

And with that, he stomped through an opening in one of the walls. Sarah wrapped her arms around herself. Hoggle's strange behaviour had left her feeling cold and sick. She gazed around the stone walls of the courtyard. They towered over her. Even standing on tiptoe, she still couldn't see over them. Now that Hoggle had left, it was incredibly quiet. Sarah strained her ears. Absolutely quiet. There wasn't even the sound of birdsong. She frowned slightly – she didn't remember the Labyrinth being this quiet. Unless she had been too busy thinking about Toby to notice. Sarah wandered around the paved courtyard, but the eerie silence was starting to make her feel uneasy. Perhaps it was just in this one area that it seemed so quiet. She had stopped near another entrance, and without another thought, walked through it. She found herself in a wide avenue that had a wall on one side and a tall hedge on the other. Sarah began to walk down it, memories of her last journey through the Labyrinth returning with every step she took. It would be hard to tell how long she wandered along the pathway for – time does move differently after all – but eventually, Sarah heard a loud rush if air in her ears and someone grabbed hold of her arm, whirling her around violently.

'I told you, I warned you not to wander through the Labyrinth on your own!'

Jareth shook her; his face was filled with a rage that Sarah could not comprehend.

'This morning – only a few hours ago – you swore that you wouldn't do this!'

His grip on her arm tightened until Sarah almost cried out in pain. She tried to wrench herself free, but he was far too strong for her.

'You're hurting me!' She shouted at him, but it made no difference. 'Look, I'm sorry. I was alone in there and it felt really creepy. I was just…Hoggle wouldn't even talk to me, I didn't know where you were, and…'

A wave of dizziness swept over her and she felt her knees buckle. For a few seconds she was grateful for Jareth's tight hold on her arm, as it was the only thing that was keeping her upright.

'You should have waited for me, Sarah.' His voice sounded gentler now, and she felt that vicelike grip relax a little. She felt as though her veins had been filled with ice water; her vision had become blurred.

'I don't feel very well,' she murmured.

'Poor Sarah,' his voice was close to her ear. 'Your "friend" upset you very much, didn't he?'

'He didn't want to see me,' she said softly. She felt as though her body was separating completely from her mind and the effort of standing was more than she could endure. But then she wasn't standing; she was lying on something soft. Sarah managed to force her eyes open. She was back in her room, and Jareth was sitting next to her on the bed, holding a glass to her lips.

'Drink this,' he urged kindly. 'It will calm you.'

Sarah drank thirstily. It was similar to what she had the night before, and within a few moments she felt peaceful and refreshed. But also incredibly sleepy. She could barely keep her eyes open.

'I'm sorry,' she said to Jareth, who was standing over her with watchful eyes. 'I'm not being a very good guest.'

'Lie back and sleep,' he commanded softly.

Sarah gratefully arranged herself on the pillows and closed her eyes. Jareth continued to watch her. If Sarah had woken then and looked up at him, she probably would not have recognised him. The handsome features had become distorted by some unnameable emotion and the eyes flashed with pure, cold hatred.

'Yes, sleep now, Sarah,' he murmured softly, the sibilance of his voice biting the air. 'Forget about your so-called friends. Very soon you'll be entirely mine, and you will give me everything that I want. And willingly! You will give it very willingly! But for now, sleep.'

_To be continued..._


	5. The Last of the Dreamers

'I'm worried, Robert. It isn't like Sarah to go off like this without telling anyone!'

'I know that! But she's an adult, she doesn't have to answer to us for what she does!'

Karen swung away from her husband with a look of disgust. 'I am fully aware of that,' she stated icily. 'But I am sure that you are also fully aware that Sarah isn't that irresponsible. No one knows where she is. Aren't you at all nervous about what could have happened to her?'

'Of course I am!' Robert snapped back, but then met Karen's eyes miserably. 'I can't bear to think about it.'

Karen sighed slightly, frowning. 'Has she heard from Linda this weekend?'

Robert returned a puzzled look.

'You know whenever Sarah hears from her mother it always upsets her,' Karen continued. 'I wouldn't be surprised if that's what happened.'

'I really don't think that hearing from Linda would make Sarah go running off somewhere,' Robert objected.

'Sarah is still completely in Linda's thrall, you know she is! Do you really think that Sarah would have wanted to become an actress if she hadn't been so desperate to impress her mother? I don't know which is worse; the fact that she can't see it, or the fact that you won't see it!'

Toby pushed himself away from the banisters as the raised voices grew louder, and walked slowly up the stairs. It was, he felt, distinctly unfair. Sarah had vanished and now his parents were rowing about it. Toby closed the door to his room and flung himself onto his bed. And whenever Sarah's mother was mentioned, everyone started acting very strangely, he had noticed. He had only ever met Sarah's mother once: it had been at a play that Sarah had been in. He remembered someone with a lot of make-up and perfume and very shiny hair who had hugged him very hard, and he remembered how quiet Sarah had been around her – not like herself at all. Sarah was meant to be spending the week with them – after all, it had been his birthday that she had come back for! Toby rolled over onto his stomach and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Pushing himself up on his hands, he studied his reflection. He was tall for his age and slender, with slightly unruly blonde hair. But the only things that Toby actually liked about his appearance were his eyes. There were one or two kids at school who tried to tease him over them, but on the whole everybody thought that they were cool. Toby turned his head from side to side experimentally, watching how the two different colours shifted and changed. He sighed. It really wasn't fair for Sarah to have disappeared like that. He stretched out a hand and picked up his crystal globe. He liked playing with it – it was oddly calming. His eyes roved over the room, coming to rest on the Escher poster on his wall and stared at it, mesmerised, for some moments. Then he shook himself. Places like that couldn't really exist; not on this earth. And yet…

His gaze strayed back to the poster. And yet at times those dreams seemed so real. Toby turned his attention away from the poster and started to hunt through his pile of books. He needed something to distract himself with. In the middle of the pile, he found one that he had appropriated from amongst Sarah's belongings. It was an old book, the cover was worn and coming away from the spine, but there was a certain mystique about it that Toby loved. The Labyrinth. He opened the pages with reverence, savouring the slightly musky scent they gave off as he turned them. Now there was a place worth visiting!

' _I once danced with the Goblin King!'_

Sarah's words echoed through his head. Half of him shrugged them off, but the other half… The other half was desperate to believe. One hand was still clutching the book, the other was manipulating the smooth, cool crystal. Without thinking, Toby raised the crystal and gazed into its depths. All of his dreams of worlds beyond the one he was living in, all of the imaginings he visualised in the park suddenly came pressing close upon him. And the one person who would really understand what he was feeling had gone, taking her fantasies with her. Still gazing into the crystal, the words that had been forming in the back of his mind ever since his conversation with Sarah sprang to his lips.

'I wish that I could see the Goblin King, right now.'

There was silence. And then in a violent gust of wind, the window burst open and Toby was nearly blinded by brilliant, shimmering dust that filled the room.

'Wishes are very dangerous, boy. You should be careful.'

Toby stared in disbelief at the man who had appeared before him – quite literally appeared, as there was no entry into the room save through one small window. But as Toby raised his eyes to meet the stranger's, he felt a jolt like electricity running through him. The fragments of a song, long forgotten, filtered through his mind; the sensation of flying through the air, but being safely caught by a firm pair of hands. And the eyes that were exactly the same as his.

'Who are you?' Toby breathed at last.

The man smiled slightly.

'You disappoint me, Toby. I would have thought that I'd left more of an impression on you.'

'You know my name,' Toby frowned and then looked up again. Vague recognition was forming deep in his memory. 'You…You are the Goblin King,' he said at last, uncertainly. And then, as if from nowhere, a name sprang to his lips. 'Jareth.'

The man smiled. 'At last. I was beginning to feel most offended.'

Jareth's eyes swept the room, resting momentarily on the Escher poster. He turned away from it with an amused smile and stared down at the blond-haired boy sitting on the bed. Toby still wore a slightly dazed expression and was gazing back at him in wonder.

'I don't really… I seem to remember,' he murmured in incoherent sentences. 'You know me, don't you?' Toby asked, his voice suddenly taking on a harder, more eager tone. 'You really do know me?'

'Of course I do, Toby. I know you… And your sister,' he added after a pause.

Sarah! For those few minutes, Toby had completely forgotten about her and the fact that she seemed to have disappeared with as much ease as Jareth had appeared in his room. Unless, of course… He recalled the look on Sarah's face and the way she had laughed when she had said those words.

'Where's Sarah? Is she with you?' he demanded.

A shadow fell across Jareth's face and Toby heard a sharp intake of breath. There was a long pause before Jareth finally met Toby's inquiring look.

'I don't know where Sarah is.'

* * *

One could not simply say that time passed in the Underground. Time moved in a way that was beyond the comprehension of mere mortals. But it was easily understood – and manipulated – by the ruler of this land. The ten years since Sarah had left the Labyrinth had passed by in a second. Passed by in eternity. It was all the same to Jareth. He sat, as he so often did, draped over his throne, his fingers playing dextrously over the smooth surface of a crystal. In its depths was an image, one captured many years ago, of a beautiful girl running through the endless passages and corridors of the Labyrinth. Jareth sighed and dismissed the vision – the crystal itself evaporating as though it had never been there. He had watched over her from a distance, and for the most part he had been patient. But as the years had passed it had become more and more difficult to keep away. So many nights had been spent in silent vigil outside her bedroom window, and so he had seen her grow and mature into the woman she was now. And the temptation to approach her again had grown. But that was not the right way: she had to be the one to call to him when, and only when, she was ready. For a while he had summoned up her image in the crystals that showed him anything and everything he wished them to. But even that had proved to be too much of a temptation, too painful to continue with. And so he contented himself with watching the old, familiar image of Sarah in the Labyrinth itself.

A small noise at his feet caught his attention and he glanced down. A small Goblin was snuffling to itself whilst timidly polishing the toe of one of his boots. It was, Jareth reminded himself, a gesture of affection. Or something. But no matter how many times he pleaded for, demanded or ordered their absence, the Goblins would always come creeping back into the throne room a few minutes later. The creature at his feet paused in its activities and looked upwards, meetings its master's gaze.

'Out,' said Jareth wearily.

It continued to stare at him.

 _'Yea Gods! Do they actually enjoy being threatened?'_ he wondered incredulously, not for the first time.

'If you don't get out now, I'll tip you straight into the Bog of Eternal Stench,' he stated, barely able to inject the requisite amount of menace into his voice. The Goblin, however, seemed quite content that the natural way of things had been carried out, and so scuttled out of the room. Jareth sprang to his feet and strode across to the massive window that overlooked the Labyrinth. He inhaled the cool, sweet air and let his thoughts drift out, bridging the gulf between the Underground and the realm of the mortals. All their dreams, their subconscious desires, floated through his mind. If you have ever walked through a wood when there is a slight breeze, you will have heard the soughing of tens of thousands of leaves, and so was the sound of the mortals' voices to Jareth. And in the middle of this, silence fell. Jareth opened his eyes. He could feel his whole body tensing, waiting for something. Someone's mind was reaching out from the other side to find his. A soul that he recognised as easily as he would his own.

Sarah.

His breath caught in his throat as he stood, waiting, longing for that one word which he sensed she was about to utter. His name. The one thing that would take him instantly to her side. And then, just as suddenly, it was gone. It took some moments for Jareth to regain the sense of where he was. For those few seconds, nothing had existed outside of Sarah. She had been reaching out for him - he had felt her desperation. How could that emotion have evaporated so quickly? Jareth turned all of his concentration – his great power – toward Sarah, his mind reaching out to hers in the darkness. Nothing. He had always been able to sense her when he had reached out to her, but for the first time he could not find her.

His hesitation lasted only a few seconds and then Jareth conjured a crystal. It hovered in the air in front of him, shimmering in the delicate light of the Underground. As he stared into it, the crystal turned black, as though filled with dark, swirling clouds. Jareth flinched slightly, a sudden, sharp pain shooting through his head. He felt as though an enormous, heavy pressure was pushing down on him, but if he could just push a little harder he would find what he was looking for. The crystal itself was pulsating erratically and Jareth had to keep tight hold of it to prevent it from careering wildly around the room. Then, finally, he saw it. The image flickered for a few seconds and then died as quickly as it had come. The crystal turned black once more and shattered. The tension in Jareth's body was released and he staggered, only just managing to support himself on the sill of the huge window. He raised one hand to his head, gently massaging his temples. But the only thing that was in his mind at the moment was what he had seen inside the crystal.

It was … unbelievable. Impossible. He had seen Sarah. Sarah as she was now: older, even more beautiful than before. But she had been walking through his castle, next to himself. The pain was replaced by a feeling of terrible, icy dread. It was many years since Jareth had offered anything in the way of a prayer, but now he did – praying to all the beings he could think of that what he feared had happened to Sarah wasn't the truth.

'It wouldn't be that easy,' he murmured aloud. 'She wouldn't be persuaded to come away so easily. Unless she wanted to come away. Foolish girl!' he added vehemently, conveniently forgetting the fact that until that moment, he had spent the past ten years hoping that she would wish to return to the Labyrinth. Jareth paced around the room. What had she been thinking of? Well, he was quite certain that a short time ago she had been thinking of him. But what of before that? He would need to speak to someone who had talked to her frequently over the last few years. He ran his mind briefly over the likely candidates. Ludo? He dismissed that idea at once. As reliable as Ludo was, any conversation with him took three times as long as with anybody else in the kingdom. Hoggle. Jareth wavered slightly. The dwarf would probably be able to tell him what he wanted to know, but despite vague improvements in their relationship, they were still not what could be termed 'friends'. Which left Sir Didymus. Jareth heaved a sigh. It would be a trying conversation with the excitable little creature, but there was no alternative. There was not the faintest ripple in the air as Jareth vanished from his throne room.

He reappeared some miles away in the heart of the Labyrinth. The Bog of Eternal Stench. He hated this place. It had once been a beautiful glade full of flowers and sunlight. Now it was just… Well, it was the Bog. Jareth placed a cautious foot on the bridge and, when confident that it would take his weight, stepped onto it fully. Almost at once, a tiny figure sprang out in front of him.

'Halt! It is my sworn, sacred duty that none shall crosseth this bridge without…' the fox trailed off as he realised who was standing there. 'Your Majesty!' he exclaimed, executing a low, graceful bow. 'I am deeply honoured that thou shouldst grace this humble-'

'Yes, yes, never mind about all of that,' Jareth interrupted impatiently.

'But I should pay my respects to my liege when he appears before me!' Sir Didymus replied, bowing again.

Jareth closed his eyes for a few seconds, battling to keep his temper under control. 'I will take it that you've paid them. You're honoured, I'm grateful, the end. Yes?'

'As you wish,' Sir Didymus muttered darkly.

'Now, listen to me,' Jareth continued. 'I need to ask you something. When was the last time you saw Sarah?'

Sir Didymus raised his head sharply and looked into Jareth's eyes.

'The Lady Sarah?' he asked in a surprised tone. Jareth nodded. Sir Didymus was rather surprised by this request. In all the time since Sarah had left the Underground, Jareth had never once asked about her. It was common knowledge that he watched over 'The Girl Who Ate the Peach', as the Goblins called her, but he never spoke of her. Sir Didymus had kept his own counsel on the subject. For years he had attended to his duties around the kingdom and then, one day, Jareth had instructed him to befriend a young girl who was making her way through the Labyrinth. And he had remained Sarah's friend ever since, although he had never told her that the reason he had given her his help in the first place was because Jareth had ordered him to. That too had been Jareth's order – that she should never be told of that.

'It is many months since I last spoke with the Lady Sarah, sire. She was in good health when I saw her,' he replied carefully.

'Did she…' Jareth hesitated. 'Did she mention that she had any desire to return to the Labyrinth?'

Sir Didymus' eyes widened slightly. 'No, Your Majesty. She did not.'

Jareth frowned. 'Did she – has she ever spoken to you of me?'

The fox hesitated again. It was almost impossible to read Jareth's eyes at the best of times – at the moment they were perfect ciphers. Even so, Sir Didymus was intuitive enough to recognise that something was desperately wrong with the King. He had been in Jareth's service for as long as he could remember (which is, by the way, far longer than any mortal can remember) and had come to know many of his master's moods. This was one that he had never seen before, and it unnerved him. It concerned the Lady Sarah, which frightened him all the more.

'My Lady has not spoken of thee to me, my liege,' he replied delicately. 'And we have not made mention of thee to her, as was thy command.'

Jareth sighed, inwardly cursing himself.

'You should have taken better care of her,' an accusing voice spoke in his mind.

'Is the Lady Sarah well, sire?' Sir Didymus ventured after some moments had passed.

'I don't know,' Jareth replied vaguely and then pulled himself together. When he spoke again his voice was steady, commanding. 'There is a strong possibility that the Labyrinth is in great danger, Didymus. I may need to call upon your services in the next few days.'

Once again, Sir Didymus bowed low before him. 'I am, as always, at thy disposal, my liege! Until then, I will remain at my sworn duty to defend this bridge against all comers!'

Jareth glanced at the ramshackle bridge that spanned the Bog and was reminded of a question that he had wanted to ask the fox ever since he was a child. 'Er, Didymus…whom exactly did you swear this sacred duty to?'

Sir Didymus gazed at the King in astonishment. 'Why, my liege, to you!'

'But I didn't… Oh, never mind!'

Sir Didymus remained staring at the space that Jareth had inhabited a few seconds before and then turned. If there was to be trouble in the Underground then they would have to start making plans now. He needed to find Ambrosius.

* * *

Jareth appeared back in his throne room with more questions in his mind than when he had left. The dread that he had started to feel earlier had only increased during his conversation with Sir Didymus. He gazed out over the expanse of the Labyrinth.

'Oh Sarah, Sarah. What have you done?' he murmured.

Time progressed and Jareth spent many hours focusing on his crystals, his mind spanning vast tracts of space and time as he searched for an answer. Around him life in the Underground and the land of the mortals continued as normal. Until, unexpectedly, he felt another call. A new voice, but also one that he recognised. He heard the longing and the frustration, and without a thought stretched out to meet the mind that was struggling to find his. And then the words came through clearly.

'I wish that I could see the Goblin King, right now.'


	6. Your Naked Eyes

There was a long, heavy silence in the small room.

'So, if Sarah isn't with you,' Toby asked eventually, 'where is she?'

'That is a question that I can't really answer at the moment,' Jareth answered slowly.

Toby sensed a reluctance in Jareth's answer, and got the impression that it had not been an easy admission for him to make. Knowing the answers was something that Jareth was accustomed to.

'But you said that you saw her in your crystal – you must know where she is!' Toby pressed on remorselessly. Somewhere in the back of his mind came the thought that it was ridiculous that he was sitting in his own bedroom, talking to a complete stranger, who ruled some mythical kingdom, about magic and crystals and Sarah. There was no reason why he should trust Jareth, let alone believe anything he said. And yet at the same time, it felt completely natural. Despite any residual warnings that Toby may have felt, some instinct told him that he should trust this man.

'I saw her briefly,' Jareth confirmed. 'I fear for her safety.'

Toby swallowed hard. 'Fear? W-why? What's happening? Where's my sister?'

'Toby, I cannot answer those questions so easily…'

'You don't get to walk in here, tell me Sarah's in trouble somewhere and then stop talking!' Toby snapped back at him, his eyes blazing.

Jareth observed the boy for some moments, a faint smile appearing around his lips. 'So like your sister,' he murmured softly. 'I'm not trying to hide anything from you, Toby,' he continued in a louder tone. 'I have come partly because you called to me and partly because I need your help. I cannot find Sarah on my own. But with the help of others I believe that we will be able to bring her back from where she is.'

There was a slight hesitation as he spoke the final words, and an imperceptible shudder ran through him. He suppressed it. At the moment he would not allow himself to think of the worst. Jareth turned his attention back to Toby. 'There is much that you do not know, Toby. Much that you do not understand. But I need your help – Sarah needs your help. But I cannot explain it to you here,' he waved his hand around the room airily. 'I need you to return with me.'

'You mean, to your kingdom?' Toby asked, his voice suddenly hoarse with excitement.

'Yes. You must return to the Labyrinth.'

For a second, Toby's mind reeled. The Labyrinth! All those strange dreams that had haunted him all his life might, finally, become reality!

'But what about my parents?' he blurted out, the memory of their argument still fresh in his mind. 'They'll go berserk, and-'

'Your parents will be taken care of,' Jareth interposed smoothly. He conjured a crystal, which sat, gleaming dimly on his gloved hand. 'They will remember that Sarah took you to the beach for a few days – they will be content and untroubled. You do want to go to the Underground, don't you, Toby? After all, you did wish to see Goblins again!'

Toby started slightly at Jareth's last words, but then told himself that he should have known that Jareth would know all of his secret thoughts and dreams.

'All right, I'll go with you. For Sarah's sake,' he added hastily.

Jareth blew softly on the crystal, which floated across the room and out of Toby's door.

'Well then, Toby. How do you like my Labyrinth?'

Toby gasped slightly as he looked about. It had all been so smooth that he hadn't even noticed the change in their location. One moment they had been in his bedroom, but now Toby found himself standing on a hillside, overlooking a massive maze that spread over undulating hills. Even from this distance, he could tell that the place glistened with magic.

'That's amazing!' he breathed reverently.

'You truly like it?' There was a note of genuine pleasure in Jareth's tone.

'Yeah!' Toby grinned back at him.

Jareth returned the smile almost shyly, evidently gratified by Toby's appreciation of the Labyrinth.

'Can we go down there now? Can we go through it?' Toby demanded eagerly, peering into the distance to see where it ended. If it ended.

'Time is short,' Jareth replied. 'I wanted you to see it, but we must go to the castle.'

Toby followed the direction that Jareth was pointing. The castle – large and imposing – stood at the heart of the Labyrinth. And then he wasn't looking at the castle; he was standing inside of it.

'You really live here?' he asked, staring up at the high, vaulted ceiling above his head.

'Yes, I really do,' Jareth replied, as though surprised that anyone could doubt this.

'Cool!'

Jareth glanced down at the boy and then suddenly turned on his heel. 'Come!' he ordered over his shoulder. 'There is much I need to explain.'

They hurried through the meandering passageways, Jareth taking long, easy strides and Toby trotting along beside him, trying to keep up. For all that Toby was worried about his sister, he wished that they would walk a little more slowly, so that he could at least see more of the castle. His head was snapping from side to side, his eyes peering down long hallways and into shadowy corners. A sudden commotion ahead of them caught his attention and Toby came to a dead stop. There was a mass of strange creatures ahead of them, most of them about half Toby's height, although some were a little bigger. He saw strange, gnarled faces and wild hair.

'Are they…?' he whispered up to Jareth.

'Goblins? Yes. Attractive, aren't they?'

There was a resounding crash as Jareth spoke and he winced, closing his eyes.

Toby watched them, fascinated. They were balancing on each other's shoulders, the topmost one wielding something that looked vaguely like a feather duster (although, being Goblins, it could just as easily have been a live chicken). The Goblin waved it determinedly in the direction of a large chandelier and Toby realised that they were attempting to clean it.

'Um,' he started uncertainly. 'Um, wouldn't it be easier if they just, y'know, like, lowered it down first ?'

Jareth looked down at him hopelessly.

'You don't know much about Goblins, do you?'

There was another crash as the pile of Goblins collapsed once again and they lay sprawled on the floor. One of their helmets bounced along the floor towards Jareth's feet. He kicked it back and it hit its owner squarely between the eyes. Toby opened his mouth to object to this, but Jareth was already stalking down another passage and Toby had to run to catch up with him. He looked back over his shoulder and saw that the determined cleaners were already forming their living tower again, seemingly unscathed by their repeated falls.

Toby was certain the castle was even larger on the inside then it was on the outside – where had all of these miles of corridors come from? They rounded yet another corner, passed through a doorway, and Toby suddenly flattened himself against the wall. The doorway they had walked through led to a staircase, which led down another corridor. But there was also a staircase directly over his head, and a doorway in what should have been the floor. Toby felt light-headed and struggled to remind himself to breath. They had not been dreams – he really had been in the painting. He had climbed all over these stairways before. The vague memories he had always carried became a little clearer. He had been climbing all over the staircases, and then a crystal… Yes! That was where the crystal had come from. Jareth had given it to him. He felt the King's gaze on him, and raised his eyes questioningly.

'I gave you the crystal,' Jareth said softly, 'as a reminder. And as a way of reaching me, should you ever need to.'

Toby nodded silently. A thousand questions formed in his mind, but somehow he knew that this was not the right time to ask them. He turned back to the incredible maze of staircases and doorways – he started to feel a mounting excitement. Without another thought, he took a step down the corridor. He was stepping into space; there was no ground beneath his foot. He should have been falling. Part of the world was crazily upside down, but then his foot landed on something solid and he was still standing upright. He heard footsteps and turned to find Jareth walking down a flight of stairs that had him at a 90-degree angle to where Toby was standing. But as the situation became increasingly bizarre, it felt even more normal to Toby. He could not have said how long he spent in there, investigating every corridor and doorway, but always with the impression that Jareth was watching over him. Until, eventually, Jareth guided him through a doorway and they were back in a more normal section of the castle.

'That was… Oh my God! Amazing! I always thought it was just a picture!'

'It was,' Jareth replied. 'I created that for your sister, from the picture she had in her room, but after she left I decided to keep it. I was just eternally grateful that she wasn't a Dali fan. This place looks bad enough without burning giraffes cluttering it up!'

Toby frowned in bewilderment. 'Wha-?' But they were off again.

Every now and then, they were by passed more Goblins and each time Toby stared at the creatures. Some of them stared back, occasionally sticking their tongues out at him, but most of them simply ignored him. When it seemed to Toby that they had been walking for what was far too long already and he was starting to think that they were destined to be walking around the corridors for evermore, Jareth came to a halt. Flinging open a large panelled door he swept into the room.

'Make yourself at home,' he instructed Toby.

The room looked like an old-fashioned study. The walls were lined with shelves, each filled with heavy, leather-bound books, and row upon row of glimmering crystals. Thick carpets lay upon the floor and there was a large fireplace – flames merrily sprang into life as Jareth waved his hand at it. Toby sank into the depths of a squashy leather armchair and waited. There was a faint humming in the air, which Toby realised must come from the crystals; he craned his neck toward them, but was unable to see what lay in their swirling depths. Jareth was staring thoughtfully into the fire; his face alternately illuminated and then plunged into shadow.

'The history of all this goes back far longer than you can imagine, Toby,' he said suddenly, turning to face the boy. 'The Underground is an ancient kingdom. It is a seat of great power – a storehouse of knowledge. And dreams.' His face softened slightly as he uttered the last words – the face of someone who understood the importance of dreaming, even though he didn't always understand the dreams themselves. 'Those of us who have ruled over the Underground have always been in possession of enormous power, but it does not necessarily follow that one person is in possession of all of the power at any one time. It can be … divided … amongst others.' His fingers toyed absent-mindedly with the amulet around his neck. Toby remained silent, his brain absorbing what Jareth was telling him, and at the same time trying to work out how it involved Sarah.

'There have, naturally, always been forces that have attempted to take this power, either by attacking the Labyrinth itself, or its ruler directly. This, however, has not happened for many hundreds of years. We have been fortunate, and complacent… Yes, too complacent,' his voice dropped so that he was almost talking to himself. 'And that is my fault. But I never wanted to see another war – perhaps I took the wrong path to averting it…' He sighed heavily and then looked at Toby again. 'I fear that the time has come when we are under threat from an enemy force. One method of gaining control over the Labyrinth and the Underground is to take the power from its ruler.'

'But you said that the ruler doesn't always have all of the power,' Toby said, a suspicion slowly growing in his mind.

Jareth flinched slightly. 'That is correct. Long ago I gave Sarah certain powers – she does not even know that she possesses them-'

'You mean you turned her into some sort of witch?' Toby asked incredulously.

Jareth laughed slightly. 'No, Toby, I don't mean that at all. I merely mean that part of the life and the energy of the Labyrinth are bound up in Sarah – it is difficult to explain … But if someone else were to gain her power, then they would have some control over the Labyrinth itself. The whole of the Underground would be in danger.'

Toby's face had gone very white; his hands gripped the arms of the chair tightly. 'So, someone has Sarah, and they're going to take this, this power from her? They'll kill her!'

'No, Toby,' Jareth said quickly. 'The only way that he can get it is for Sarah to give it willingly, and with joy in her heart at the giving of it. He dare not hurt her,' Jareth's eyes narrowed, the stare suddenly icy. 'He dare not.'

'He? You know who it is?' Toby demanded eagerly, jumping out of the chair.

'Yes. It is an ancient enemy, one who is the very opposite of everything we are. He swallows up light and life. He is blackness and despair – I suppose what mortals would call a nightmare. He has many faces and many names, but the one that is the oldest – the one that I know him by – is Khazad.'

Toby shuddered involuntarily as he heard the name – something about it grating on his ears.

'But then you must know where she is,' he said, a note of pleading entering his voice. 'If you know all of this…'

Jareth shook his head. 'The people in your realm have a very limited concept of space: you think that any location has to be solid and something that you can mark on a map. It isn't. Space is far more fluid and changeable than that. Khazad's realm could be balanced on a pinhead, or it could expand to fill an entire galaxy. And so it could be anywhere.'

Toby felt his heart sink.

'There is hope. We will find her.' He rested a hand on Toby's shoulder, and Toby could almost swear that he felt strength flowing into him from that touch.

'But how?' Toby asked quietly. 'If you don't know where… And there's nothing I can-'

'Toby,' Jareth's voice was sharp. 'I have already told you that we can accomplish nothing separately. But you and I together will find her. Us, and one other.'

'Who?' Toby asked, curious.

'Someone who-' Jareth suddenly broke off and let out a gasp. He closed his eyes, his body tensing as though he was in pain.

'What's wrong?' Toby cried; he touched Jareth lightly on the arm.

'I-I don't know,' Jareth replied. 'I have to go. Stay here!' he ordered brusquely and vanished from the room, leaving Toby standing, open mouthed, on the hearth.

* * *

The warm breeze stirred the curtains of her room. She stood at the window, staring out over the vista of twinkling lights that lay spread out beneath her. All day an indefinable sensation had been nagging at her – the fabric of something had altered slightly somewhere. She had consulted the crystals and what they had shown her had only confused and worried her even more. The one thing that she was certain of was that she was in the wrong place. She opened the window a little wider and leaned out. It was some time since she had done this last, but there was no reason to suppose that she would have forgotten how, or that anything about it would have changed. Taking a deep breath, she launched herself into the air. The moonlight picked out the snowy feathers of an owl fluttering against the night sky.

* * *

For some moments, Toby remained standing by the fire. He had lost track of all time, he didn't know where he was and he was with someone who had the odd habit of disappearing and reappearing at will. But Toby was not that easily intimidated, and after a while – when it became clear that Jareth was not about to materialize in front of him – Toby decided that the easiest way of dealing with everything that Jareth had told him was simply to accept it. However, once he had accepted it, all the questions that had been forming in the back of his mind came springing to the fore. And most of them were to do with Sarah. He started to wander around the room. The crystals were, indeed, all humming slightly. Each one contained swirling, glowing mists of all different colours, and occasionally Toby could make out a shadowy figure in their depths. At some point in the past, both he and Sarah must have been in the Underground – but when? And how? Jareth seemed to know so much about both of them – and he had Jareth's eyes.

Unless that was just a coincidence.

Toby dismissed that though at once: even at the age of ten, he knew that it was highly unlikely for something like that to be a fluke. So Jareth must have done it – but once again the question why. Sarah would be able to tell him, if she were here. Toby sighed. It all came back to Sarah. Toby longed to see her. The low humming in the room increased and Toby realised that there was a loud buzzing right next to his ear. He turned around and gasped. A crystal was floating near him; it seemed to have been following him around the room for the last fewmoments. Tentatively, Toby stretched out a hand and grasped it. It rolled into his hand and lay in his palm. Toby raised it up to eye level, and saw the mists within it part to reveal a scene. As he looked, the frozen image began to expand, so that it was hovering before his eyes in the air. It was the park near his house, and a girl was standing in the middle of it. She was wearing a long, white dress and she had flowers in her dark hair. An owl was perched nearby, watching her.

'Sarah!' Toby gasped aloud.

As he said her name, the figures began to move. Toby watched, mesmerised.


	7. Anything Out of the Blue

The air tasted sweet as it wafted through Sarah's room. The Labyrinth looked so serene and there was no sound to break the silence. She felt quite happy as she leant against the window, gazing out. Somehow, the fact that Hoggle had been so hostile towards her didn't really seem to matter anymore. Sarah took in another breath of air. Perhaps she would try talking to him again. There was a gentle knock on her door. That would be Jareth. He had been so attentive ever since she arrived – so much so that Sarah hadn't felt the need to contact any of her other friends. And if they were going to treat her the way Hoggle had, then she would rather not see them. She could just spend the time with Jareth instead. The knock was repeated.

'Sarah, are you ready?'

Sarah felt her chest tighten slightly at the sound of that velvety voice. She didn't need Hoggle; she didn't need any of them. She had Jareth.

* * *

The girl was sitting at her dressing table, slowly pulling photographs off her mirror before putting them into a drawer. From downstairs, her father called up to her. She answered him, but remained seated at the dressing table, her eyes fixed on the mirror. The image had enveloped Toby's senses to the point that he felt as though he were standing there with her and, at any moment, she would turn around and see him.

'I see that you have found the answers to some of your questions, Toby.'

The voice seemed to come from nowhere and Toby started, looking around in bewilderment. Jareth was standing next to him, but Sarah didn't seem to notice: she was talking to one of the creatures that had appeared in her mirror. The image began to shrink, the whole room rushing inwards, until Toby was left staring at a shimmering crystal. It hovered in the air for a few moments, until Jareth blew on it gently and it floated across the room, returning to its place on the shelf. The fire had burned low, and the room appeared much darker; the corners were full of dense, barely moving shadows.

'She wished me away,' Toby said quietly.

'Yes. But she went through a great deal to get you back,' Jareth replied.

Toby looked up at him. Jareth, he thought with surprise, suddenly looked much older. His clothes had changed to white and pale grey, which only accentuated the unnatural paleness of his skin. There were heavy circles under his eyes and his face looked drawn.

'Sarah suffered much – and sacrificed much – to ensure your safe return,' Jareth continued before Toby had a chance to ask him what had happened. 'You cannot hold against her something that she did at that young age.'

'I don't!' Toby answered immediately. 'I just didn't know about it before, that's all.'

It had come as a shock to see Sarah so different from the way he was used to her being. So unlike the caring, protective sister he knew. Although, Toby had to admit to himself, if he had had to look after a screaming baby, he probably would have wished it away, too. But it wasn't just Sarah that Toby was thinking about. He watched Jareth intently out of the corner of his eyes. Once, about a year ago, he had been in the park – a place he frequented often, much as Sarah had. He remembered that there had been a beautiful, snow-white owl perched on a branch, staring directly at him. Toby had stood absolutely still, hardly daring to breath in case he frightened it away. The owl had suddenly taken off in a great flurry of wings, but instead of flying away, it had landed on his shoulder. He recalled the weight of it, and the warm feathers brushing against his cheek… It had stayed there for some moments before nibbling his ear gently, and then soaring into the air. Toby glanced at Jareth again and wondered – not daring to ask. Jareth was staring into the fire and as a branch broke, sending up a shower of golden sparks, he turned away with a sigh. He looked a little more like himself again and Toby cautiously ventured a question.

'What happened? Where did you go?'

'I felt a rupture within the Underground,' Jareth replied. He noticed Toby's puzzled expression and tried to explain himself better. 'It felt as though something had broken through the barriers around the Underground and was draining some of its power. I had to try to stop it.'

Toby felt his insides contract.

'Is-is that what's happened?' he asked. 'The Underground is being attacked? Then Sarah must've given in.'

Jareth shook his head. 'No, Toby, the Underground is not under attack. Had Sarah given in, Khazad would not wait. I don't know what happened…but something has altered, I can feel it. His way into the Labyrinth is through Sarah's mind, it may be that as she becomes more… attached to him, his power over her grows.'

There was a dangerous gleam in his eye as he said this, and Toby was once again aware of the power that radiated from Jareth. Jareth waved his hand at the fire, extinguishing it.

'Come on,' he said to Toby. 'We've been here long enough.'

They wove their way through the twisting corridors once again, Toby's mind going over everything he had learnt since the Goblin King had appeared in his bedroom. To see himself as a baby, here, in Jareth's kingdom. And to see Sarah as an opponent to this man. It had been like a game that both were eager to win, and yet…

'Why did you help her so much?' Toby asked suddenly.

Jareth frowned as he looked at him. 'What?'

'Sarah. When she was trying to get me back – she challenged you, she wouldn't just give in, but you helped her!'

Jareth had stopped walking now and was gazing down at Toby. 'What makes you say that?'

'Well,' Toby said thoughtfully, 'you were watching everything that was happening, and you have power over everything that goes on here, so you could've made sure that she didn't get to the castle at all! But every time something bad happened to her, something came along that would help her – even after she ate the peach, you put the clock into the ballroom to make her remember!'

'Oh, did I?' Jareth asked, smiling slightly. 'You're almost making it sound as though you're sorry she won.'

Toby swallowed nervously. 'You-you wouldn't really have turned me into a Goblin, would you?'

Jareth's face remained as inscrutable as ever. 'Well, we'll never know now, will we?' he replied before moving down the passage way again. Toby stayed where he was, staring into space, and then suddenly his eyes lit up in a flash of understanding.

'No you wouldn't!' he shouted and ran after Jareth. 'You wouldn't have done it!' he gasped, catching up to the King and forcing him to stop again. 'You wanted Sarah to think you would, that's all! You're not as bad as you like to make out – you're only playing at it.'

Jareth had stood, his arms folded, staring wordlessly down at the boy. Toby fell silent and for one awful moment he feared that he made a terrible mistake, and was about to be condemned to a lifetime of scrambling up the backs of his fellow Goblins to clean the chandeliers. Then Jareth threw his head back and laughed.

'I was right!' he gasped when he had caught his breath, and for the first time, Toby saw true joy in Jareth's face. 'I was right! You really are a lively little chap!' He clapped his hand on Toby's shoulder and steered him along the passages, glancing down at him every now and then with undisguised affection. Toby wasn't sure exactly what it was that had pleased Jareth so much, but he couldn't help but grin every time Jareth looked at him. They had arrived outside of an imposing set of double doors.

'What's this place?' Toby asked.

'The throne room,' Jareth answered significantly.

The doors opened and Jareth swept through them…and then came to a dead-halt, causing Toby to bump into him.

'How many times do I have to tell you? GET OUT!'

Toby heard his exasperated tones, and peered around Jareth's back. They were in a large, imposing room – well, it would have been imposing, except for the fact that it had been overtaken by Goblins. They were involved in various activities, most of which seemed to involve drinking, and chasing chickens around the place. They all froze at Jareth's voice and the volume suddenly dropped away to silence. One of their number, more courageous than the rest, ventured forward and stared up at Jareth beseechingly.

'Please, Y'Majesty, it's been so long since we been here last … and we never see you no more,' it finished sadly.

'You saw me yesterday,' Jareth replied testily.

'What do they want?' Toby asked him.

'They want to tear the throne room to pieces,' he replied wearily. 'I keep throwing them out, get it straightened out again, and then they creep back in. They like to have parties in here.'

'Parties?' Toby repeated in amazement, taking another look around the throne room. It wasn't the place that he would have picked for a party himself – but he supposed that Goblins had rather different tastes when it came to that sort of thing. All of the Goblins had turned their eyes to Jareth, and Toby was left with the feeling that it wasn't so much that they just wanted a party – they wanted their King to be with them. Jareth looked at all of the upturned faces and then sighed.

'Oh, all right !'

The words had barely left his lips before the Goblins let out loud whoops, and continued their celebrations. Toby watched their antics, bemused. They were becoming increasingly raucous, and as they danced around the room, a vague echo stirred in his memory.

'You remind me of the babe,' he murmured.

'What babe?' Jareth replied immediately, that expression of suppressed amusement in his eyes once again.

'The babe with the power.' The words rose to his lips, and he spoke louder.

'What power?' It was a Goblin that had taken up the rhyme now, and Toby realised that they had all started crowding around himself and Jareth.

'The power of voodoo.'

Music was coming from somewhere – a tune that was both strange and familiar. The Goblins were taking hold of Toby's hands, pulling him into the middle of the room; their strange, wild faces filled with excitement. He felt nervous at first, but then saw that they were trying to get him to dance with them. A rich, powerful voice filled the hall, lifted in a song that Toby knew he had heard before. It was Jareth. He suddenly grasped hold of Toby and, lifting him into the air, stood him on the throne. From this vantage, Toby could see the wild capering of the Goblins, Jareth in the middle of them. Of course! This was the song that Jareth had sung to him as a baby.

'Magic dance!'

The Goblins had made him dance then, and now they were pulling at him again with their hard little hands. Toby laughed and jumped off the throne so that he was in the middle of them. They seemed delighted. Toby looked over to where Jareth was leading a chorus of Goblins through a verse that was evidently well known to all of them. Jareth looked as though he was enjoying himself, skilfully weaving his way through the throng – even Toby could see that he was a good dancer.

' _Thunder or lightening? Something frightening?'_

As though for extra emphasis, Jareth aimed a kick at a nearby Goblin, which went soaring through the air. Toby stared at him in astonishment, and then looked around at the rest of the Goblins – but none of them appeared to have noticed. In fact, some of them were jumping up and down in front of Jareth as though willing him to kick them. When he finally did, Toby watched its trajectory – it crashed into a wall and then leapt to its feet, giggling madly. Toby shook his head.

He had stopped dancing now – the Goblins showed no signs of stopping, but Toby was starting to feel quite tired, and was more than happy just to watch. It was because of this that he noticed the woman enter. No one else saw her – they were all too busy. She stood in the doorway for a few moments, taking in the scene, a smile spreading across her face when she saw Jareth. Toby watched her curiously. She was tall, with blonde hair swept up on top of her head, and very pretty. She started to move through the dancers, and as she did so, Toby saw that some of them stopped and nudged each other. Jareth still hadn't noticed her. The song continued, and the newcomer suddenly took up the refrain, her voice was pure and gentle.

' _What kind of magic spell to use? Slime and snails, or puppy dog's tails?'_

Jareth spun around and gazed at her in amazement. He seemed rooted to the spot; then suddenly his face lit up and he made his way toward her. They met in the middle of the floor and threw their arms around each other – Jareth lifted her off her feet and whirled her around. The Goblins' dancing was wilder than ever, and Jareth and the woman were spinning around together, laughing. She suddenly took his face in both her hands and kissed him on each cheek. Toby watched them for a few moments and then walked out of the room.

He wasn't sure exactly why he suddenly felt angry with Jareth. Toby didn't pretend to understand the relationship between Jareth and Sarah, but had thought that Jareth liked his sister. And in Toby's world, that meant that you didn't go around hugging strange women. Lost in his own thoughts, Toby didn't notice that the music from the throne room had stopped, nor that there were footsteps coming toward him.

'Toby?'

Jareth was looking down at him – the woman was standing slightly apart from them. Toby glared at Jareth mutinously.

'I'd like to introduce you to someone,' Jareth said, apparently not noticing Toby's angry stare.

'Yeah?' Toby answered with disinterest.

Jareth raised an eyebrow. 'I had thought you had better manners than that, Toby,' he said.

The newcomer was observing this little scene in silence, her eyes flickering between the two, an expression of amusement creeping into her face. Toby had dropped his eyes, feeling slightly ashamed of himself and kicked a loose stone on the floor. He glanced over at the woman – she was very pretty, and Toby suddenly found it very difficult to persuade himself to dislike her.

'Who is she?' he asked Jareth, quietly.

'I am called Delaine,' the woman answered him. 'I believe that you have heard my name before, Toby. In your world, I am known as Delaine King.'

Toby stared at her. 'You- _you're_ Delaine King?'

She nodded, her eyes sparkling. 'I hope you liked your birthday present!'

Out of all the things that Toby had seen and heard so far, this – somehow – was the most incredible. He stood, speechless, looking between Jareth and Delaine.

'But how… Who are… You're not…' he could hear himself babbling, but seemed unable to control his own voice.

Jareth slipped his arm around Delaine's waist and pulled her next to him.

'Toby,' he said gently, 'Delaine is my sister.'


	8. Serious Moonlight

It had taken, Sir Didymus was quite convinced, far longer to find Ambrosius than was strictly necessary. But find him he had, eventually. Sir Didymus approached the figure that was seated at the water's edge, apparently lost in thought.

'Ambrosius,' he called softly.

The figure didn't stir.

'Ambrosius!' he called, a little more loudly.

Still there was no answer.

'I know that you can hear me, Ambrosius!' Sir Didymus snapped irritably. 'I need to talk to you urgently, and if you don't answer me this instant, I'll… I'll…'

'Never feed me again?' Ambrosius asked, finally turning around and fixing the little fox with fond, amused eyes.

Sir Didymus drew himself up to his full height. 'Thou knowest full well, Ambrosius-'

'Oh, Didymus, there really is no need for that sort of language!' The old man stood up and, leaning on a heavy staff, walked toward the fox.

Sir Didymus glowered at him. 'I think that I preferred you when you were a dog,' he muttered under his breath.

'I heard that,' Ambrosius commented dryly. 'I may be old, Didymus, but my hearing hasn't gone. At least, not yet.' He leaned against an old stump and sighed wearily. 'I may still have that pleasure to come.'

They were standing in a place of remarkable beauty and serenity – even by the Underground's standards. The air was filled with the gentle sounds of birdsong, the soughing of the trees and the lapping of the lake. It was far beyond the limits of the Goblin City, and the mighty Labyrinth itself was barely distinguishable in the distance. Sir Didymus squinted up at the figure standing over him. The sun was behind Ambrosius, casting a deep shadow across his face. But even so, Didymus knew that those penetrating eyes were focused directly on him.

'His Majesty came to me,' he said quietly. 'He warned me that there is a threat to the Underground.'

'Yes,' Ambrosius said slowly. 'It is an ancient evil. Jareth will have felt it growing for some days past, as I have.' He gazed out over the lake for a few moments before turning back to Didymus. 'The Princess has returned to the castle.'

'Really?' Sir Didymus's ears pricked up – literally. 'I had no idea! I must go thither forthwith and give unto her my-'

'Didymus!' Ambrosius exclaimed patiently. 'There will time enough for that later.'

'But…but…' Didymus' sense of propriety was so offended that he could barely speak. 'But we should, at the very least, go to the castle. His Majesty will be in need of your counsel!'

'We will go when we are summoned. Jareth knows where to find me.' He examined the little figure before him for some moments before speaking again. 'What else did Jareth speak to you of when he visited you?'

Sir Didymus hesitated for a second. 'He… he asked after the Lady Sarah.'

'Ah,' Ambrosius rejoined softly. 'I guessed as much. Why is it, I wonder, that our kind is so fascinated by the mortals? I was exactly the same – investing so much time and energy and power in that boy. But then I had done the same with his father. I could hardly expect Jareth to learn from my mistakes when I didn't.'

'I would hardly call them mistakes,' Sir Didymus said consolingly. 'The mortals have not yet forgotten that time – they still speak of it as an era of chivalry and heroes. It gives them hope, Ambrosius.'

Ambrosius smiled slightly at these unexpected words of wisdom from the excitable fox. 'Perhaps you are right. Come, my old friend,' he said, seeing that Sir Didymus was itching for action. 'We will go and find Ludo and Hoggle. Then perhaps you will stop hopping up and down for five minutes.'

'Finding them is not an easy matter, Ambrosius!' Sir Didymus stated, with an air of self-importance.

'Of course it is,' the old man replied. 'We'll simply follow the trail of unconscious Fairies until we find Hoggle; and as for Ludo,' he chuckled to himself, 'we'll simply ask the rocks!'

As the two friends began to follow the path back toward the Labyrinth, Ambrosius turned to his companion and said lightly, 'Jareth went Aboveground recently. He brought back Sarah's brother.'

'The child! Why?' Didymus stopped and looked up at him – he remembered well the baby that he had helped Sarah 'rescue' from Jareth.

'That fascination with mortals again,' Ambrosius answered, sighing slightly. 'I wonder,' he said some moments later after they began walking again, 'if I should take on my dog form again, for old time's sake. In honour of the mortals' return.'

'I don't understand why you had to be a dog in the first place,' Didymus muttered.

'It was my idea of a joke.'

* * *

They had returned to Jareth's study, away from the raucous noise of the Goblins' party. Toby, once more ensconced in the depths of an armchair, watched the couple standing in the middle of the room. Delaine's eyes travelled over the room, taking in every detail.

'It's so long since I've been in here!' she laughed slightly. 'It doesn't look any different. Just a bit more full.'

'It's been far too long,' Jareth replied – his gaze was fixed on his sister. 'You look wonderful,' he said, but then suddenly caught her chin in his hand and looked earnestly into her face. 'But what have you done to your eyes?'

Delaine laughed at his consternation and released herself from his hold. 'I thought that the family feature was a little too conspicuous, so I borrowed a human invention.'

With great care, she pulled a tiny, gleaming disc from each eye. Where she had had a pair of deep, chocolate-brown eyes, was now one of blue-grey and one of gold-flecked hazel. Jareth examined the minute lenses balanced in the tip of her finger and shook his head.

'What strange beings they are,' he said softly.

'The contact lenses or the mortals?' Delaine inquired.

Jareth glanced at her reproachfully, but then his face softened. 'That's much better.'

Delaine turned her attention to Toby, who felt his face go red when she looked at him. 'Well, Toby, how do you like the Underground?'

'Everybody keeps asking me that!' Toby responded. 'But, yeah, I like it a lot. It's really cool.'

She looked pleased at his answer. 'And have you seen everything that you wanted to?'

'Well, I've seen the Goblins-'

There was a snort from the other side of the room, in which the word 'Goblins' was barely distinguishable. Delaine glared at her brother and then turned back to Toby with an expression that seemed to say 'just ignore him'. Toby was reminded irresistibly of his mother.

'That was what I wanted to see more than anything. But I bet there's a lot more things out there…' he added wistfully. It was almost embarrassing to remember that a short time ago the most exotic place he knew was the park. This final thought reminded him of something else. He sat more upright in his chair.

'Jareth, I forgot to thank you for my birthday present.'

'Birthday present?' Jareth rounded on him, frowning. 'What birthday present?'

'The globe,' Toby continued, not noticing Jareth's concerned expression. 'The one I found in the park, in the little bag. I figured it must've been from you 'cos of the Goblins inside it. I showed it to Sarah and she went all weird over it.'

'Toby, I didn't give you anything of the sort! When was this? How did you…'

'Um, actually, that was me.' Delaine's voice interrupted.

Jareth stared at her. 'You?'

His sister returned him a sweet smile. 'Well, I felt that one of us should acknowledge Toby's birthday, and-'

'You interfered,' Jareth stated flatly.

'I did not interfere!' Delaine objected. 'I just thought that proceedings needed a little nudge, so I thought that I'd give something to Toby that might resurrect some of his old memories. Not to mention Sarah's!'

'So, in other words, you interfered.'

'If you're going to be like that…' she began airily.

'I am not being like anything.' Jareth's calm voice was somehow more menacing than had he been shouting. 'You do realise that those memories that you were so set on 'resurrecting' may very well have-' he broke off, casting a look at Toby and then met Delaine's eyes. A silent communion flowed between them for a few seconds.

Toby sank back into his chair – his limbs felt incredibly heavy, and it took a great effort just to hold his head up. He didn't know how long it had been since he had last slept, and had no idea whether it was day or night outside. Jareth and Delaine had started discussing something, and the drone of their voices only seemed to increase the waves of fatigue washing over him. He tried to stifle an enormous yawn, but the sound attracted Jareth's attention.

'You should be in bed,' he informed his young guest.

Toby struggled upright. 'No, I'm fine. Really. I was just…' he broke off as another yawn overtook him.

'Toby, you need sleep and you are going to bed.' As he was speaking, Jareth produced a crystal and, gently blowing on it, sent it towards the boy. Toby gazed at it as it floated closer and closer to him – even had he wanted to, he couldn't take his eyes off it. As it touched his forehead, his eyes closed immediately and he was enveloped in a heavy, dark sleep.

Delaine watched as Toby's figure was surrounded by a hazy light and then slowly disappeared.

'Where have you put him?' she asked Jareth.

'In the east wing.'

She nodded and then settled herself in another of the deep armchairs, her eyes following Jareth as he paced the floor.

'I've seen her – your Sarah,' she said after a while.

'She is not "my" Sarah,' Jareth retorted.

'Oh?' Delaine rasied an eyebrow.

Jareth stopped pacing and faced her. 'It's my fault, Delaine. It's all… Khazad has her; you know that, don't you?'

Delaine's expression betrayed nothing. 'How?'

Jareth took a deep breath. 'He tricked her – obviously. He disguised himself as the King of the Goblins. Sarah thinks that she's here, in the Underground, with me.'

Delaine considered this for some moments. 'Then she must have wanted to go with him. At least, she must have wanted to be with you.' Her keen eyes picked up the slight spasm – as if in pain – that crossed Jareth's face.

'I should have kept a closer watch over her!' he said bitterly. 'I'm the one who put her in danger, I should have realised that something like this would happen.'

'But how could you have known?' Delaine's heart ached at the sight of her brother's distress. 'You did everything you could….'

'I left her alone! Still keeping to those stupid damn rules that only existed in Sarah's head, because I thought that was the best way to… I should have gone to her when I first felt her reaching for me. He must have been watching her too, waiting. All he had to do was appear before she called. All of this could have been avoided.'

'Could it?' Delaine asked quietly. 'Sooner or later… Jareth, Khazad has been planning to make war with us for as long as I can remember.'

'And I've given him the perfect ammunition. I know that some of the others think that I'm crazy – that we're crazy to entwine ourselves with the mortals, but I wouldn't change that decision!' He was pacing again, his tone almost frenzied. 'I'd just change…' he took a deep breath, slowing down. 'He must have known that I was watching over Sarah, just waiting for when I was distracted. I thought that I was doing the right thing by keeping away from her, I thought…'

He broke off, his face suddenly contorted by a nameless emotion. Delaine stood and put her arms around him, pulling his head down onto her shoulder. They stood, silently, like that for some time, before Jareth pulled away. He looked at her gratefully and then turned back to the fire.

'We can only reach her through her brother,' Jareth continued, avoiding Delaine's eyes. 'That's one of the reasons I brought him here… And also because I thought that it would be safer for him.'

'We'll have to move quickly.'

'I know. Everything is at risk, Delaine. You returned just in time – but of course you would have seen that it was time,' he smiled slightly.

'What do you mean?' she asked suspiciously.

'I mean, dear sister, that you have been watching me very carefully in your crystals.'

She stared at him. 'I have not – how did you know that, anyway? You can't know when I'm watching you!'

Jareth laughed. 'And it never occurred to you that while you were watching me, I was watching you? I saw you.'

'Well, you really do have some nerve…' she muttered, folding her arms.

'Where did you see her?' Jareth asked suddenly.

Delaine looked up at him. 'In a bookshop in Boston.'

'How did she look?'

'Very beautiful.'

Jareth nodded. 'Yes,' he said gently, more to himself, 'she always was.' For an instant, the vision of a girl in a sliver gown dancing through a crystal ballroom appeared before his eyes. He let out a heavy sigh, the fire dying down once again with the exhalation. 'I think it is time that we, too, slept. We will have need of all our strength tomorrow.'

Delaine took the hand that he was holding out to her and stood up. A second later, the room was empty.


	9. ...The Power to Charm...

He was holding her close. Not closer than was necessary for a dance, but certainly closer than a man had ever held her. She should have been frightened, she told herself: she should try to get away. And then suddenly she had broken away, and now it was frightening. She was running down long, dark corridors that were full of strange and terrifying shadows. And yet she had the feeling that the place – or rather the person – she was running from was where she would find peace and safety. So many corners, so many staircases, and then she was falling…

Sarah sat up, gasping for air. Her skin prickled with sweat and it took some moments before she could breathe easily again. A cool breeze was blowing through her open window and it felt wonderful against her burning skin. Her head was pounding and she had a raging thirst. But instead of reaching for the jug that stood close to her bed, Sarah pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She woke up like this almost every night, her head full of strange, disjointed images. During the day she always felt fine – it was only at night that this would happen. Sarah lowered her head onto her knees and tried to force herself to think. She could not remember how long she had been in the Underground and at times it seemed as though her entire life before she had come here had been a dream. It had been real, hadn't it? She had had a home and family…

Sarah tried to picture them, but their faces were hazy. Her father and stepmother and little Toby. And it was Toby, really, who had started all of this. He had been the reason that she had entered the Labyrinth in the first place, all those years ago. Unless she had never left the Labyrinth at all, but had simply imagined her entire life after that. Perhaps she was still lying at the bottom of an oubliette, but just didn't realise it. Sarah almost laughed aloud to herself – she knew that was becoming increasingly feverish. Maybe she should talk to Jareth about it in the morning. Jareth. He came into her dreams so often, despite the fact that she saw him everyday – or perhaps because she saw him everyday. In the morning, he would knock courteously on her door to take her down to breakfast. Polite, considerate…but there was something not quite right. She couldn't say what it was, but always during these tormented midnight hours, she would know that something was wrong. The pain in her head was becoming unbearable and she felt as though her mouth had a thick coating on it from dehydration.

If it hadn't been for the awful throbbing of her head, Sarah would have realised that her thoughts were becoming more lucid and that her instincts – constantly suppressed during daytime – were returning. But the pain became too much. Sarah threw back the covers and reached for the jug of clear liquid and a glass. It only took a few mouthfuls to quench her thirst, and within a few minutes, her headache began to pass. The fears and uncertainties were, once again, numbed and a wonderful, sleepy feeling overtook her. Sarah sighed happily and lay down again. There was no point in telling Jareth about all of this. After all, there wasn't actually anything wrong.

* * *

Toby stood, a little apprehensively, in the throne room. He didn't remember going to bed the previous night, but he had woken up in a vast, lofty chamber somewhere in Jareth's castle. A Goblin had brought him breakfast (tripping over its own feet so that Toby narrowly escaped being scalded by hot chocolate when the tray went flying). And then he had been taken to where Jareth and Delaine were waiting for him. They looked exceptionally sombre, both arrayed in shades of black and filmy grey. The throne room appeared eerily quiet after the revels Toby had witnessed the last time he had been there.

'Toby, the time has come that I must ask for your assistance. Will you trust me, and do as I say?'

Toby felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle at Jareth's words. This was, after all, why he had gone to the Labyrinth in the first place. How long ago it seemed now, that moment when Jareth had first appeared in his room.

'So, we're going to get Sarah back now?' he asked hopefully.

'No,' Jareth answered.

'But-but that's why I'm here, I-'

'We can't simply pluck Sarah from where she is and bring her here,' Delaine interposed gently. 'She has to want to come. We need you to persuade her to do that.'

Toby shook his head. 'I don't have any magic or anything like that. How am I supposed to find her?'

'You have a bond with Sarah that no one else has,' Jareth replied. 'You're her brother. Delaine and I can give you the channel, but you are the one who can reach her.'

'How?'

'Through dreams. Yours and hers.'

Delaine nodded silently at her brother's words.

'But,' Toby's eyes slid to the window, through which brilliant sunlight was streaming, 'I've just got up – why didn't I do this last night if you needed me to dream?'

'These are not ordinary dreams, Toby. You need to be rested in both body and mind for what you are about to do – the journey you have to endure will take all of your physical strength, even if your body does not leave this room.'

'Jareth and I will be with you through all of it, Toby, but you must do what we ask of you.'

Toby's mind was filled with the image of the dark-haired girl running through the Labyrinth. She had gone through so much to rescue him.

Jareth almost smiled to himself when he saw the boy's shoulders lift and his jaw set determinedly – so very like his sister! He placed a hand on Toby's shoulder.

'Come, then,' he said, in a kinder tone than he had used yet. 'Sit, and we will begin.'

The only chair was the throne itself and Toby felt a little awkward as he settled himself in it – it suddenly seemed far more imposing in the stillness of the room. The throne, however, was far more comfortable than one would think.

'What do I do?' he asked.

'Just relax,' Delaine replied, with a dazzling smile.

Despite the tension of the situation, Toby felt a sudden, pleasant buzzing feeling around his ribs.

Jareth now offered him a goblet.

'Drink this, it will help you to relax.'

Toby sniffed it. The liquid smelt warm and homely and gave Toby a longing for his own room, his own family and his own sister. He took a long drink. The warmth spread slowly through him, pushing away all distractions, so that he felt remarkably peaceful and clear-headed.

'What was that?'

'Peach juice,' Jareth replied shortly.

Toby settled more comfortably on the throne. Singing had started somewhere – at first it seemed very far away, but the next was close to him. He strained his ears, trying to catch the words, but they slipped away from him.

'Toby.'

He heard Jareth call him softly. A crystal was being held out to him, spinning on the outstretched, gloved palm. His attention arrested by its glinting surface, Toby stared deeply into it.

He was thrown up into the air. The colours of the room rushed past him in a blur and a loud roaring filled his ears. He felt his body slow, and then he began the descent. The sensation of flying through the air overpowered him so that it was only at the last moment that he wondered what would happen when he hit the ground. This was answered the next second when a pair of hands caught him and immediately threw him upwards again. Toby almost laughed aloud when he was sent flying upwards for the third time – he felt weightless! Then came the descent again, but this time there was no pair of hands, and he continued to fall. Toby felt a sense of rising panic, complete with images of himself splattering all over some hard surface. His feet suddenly touched firm ground and he was standing on a platform in the Escher room. For some unknown reason, Toby started running – through archways, up and down staircases, and all the while had the feeling that there was someone chasing after him. Breathless, he finally came to a halt and looked around the bewildering maze.

'Interesting,' Jareth's voice said calmly.

Toby turned to find him leaning against the wall; the harsh red and black of his clothes making him look far more menacing than usual.

'You come here often, don't you?'

Toby didn't reply – it took him some moments before his brain began to function again, before he could remember where he was and why he was there.

'If I'm supposed to find Sarah through her dreams, why are we doing this now?' he heard himself ask. 'It's only morning now.'

'Is it? We've been here longer than you think.' He smiled – that half-amused, wholly enigmatic smile that had so infuriated, and infatuated, Sarah.

'So, I really am just asleep now?' Toby asked uncertainly.

'Not exactly,' Jareth replied, holding out another crystal to him. Toby looked, and found himself staring into the throne room. He could see himself sitting in the throne, apparently asleep. But when he looked more closely, Toby could see that his eyes were open, and his face had a strange, vacant look, as though his personality was no longer in there. Toby shivered slightly. Delaine was standing over the figure, her lips moving, and when Toby concentrated on her, he could just make out the faint sound of her singing.

'I'm here to help you, Toby,' Jareth stated, as if in reply to an unasked question. 'And to watch over you. Even though you are not in any danger, I don't want to … risk you.'

Toby just about absorbed his words when a bell went off near his ear.

'Oh no. Oh no!' he exclaimed and started running down the locker-lined corridor of his school. Everywhere was deserted – all of the kids were already in class and he was terribly late! Toby could see his classroom door ahead of him, but even as he was running toward it, it was getting further away. Toby ran even faster, until he could feel his heart knocking against his ribs and his chest tearing with the effort.

'Nice of you to join us, Toby!' his form teacher snapped at him.

Toby gasped slightly. How had he got in here?

'Just sit down and take your books out.'

He slid into his chair and suddenly noticed the clock above the blackboard. It had thirteen hours marked on it, but no hands.

'Hey, Toby,' his friend Jason Dwyer prodded him anxiously, 'can I see your homework?'

Toby glanced down at his book. 'I can't,' he replied calmly. 'It's turned to Jell-O.'

In fact, the entire classroom had turned to Jell-O, including the teacher. Mrs Lynam wobbled across the classroom, her feet sinking into the floor as she walked.

'That's it,' she said. 'That's it. I can't take it anymore! You ungrateful brats just think of me as your slave! You…'

Her tirade continued, but even as she spoke, she started to melt, along with everything else. Warm, sticky liquid was quickly rising up all around and Toby took a deep breath as he was submerged in it. But it wasn't Jell-O around him – it was just some melted ice cream on his nose. Toby let out a sigh of relief and leaned back on the grass.

'Robert, you really should mow the lawn this weekend, it's getting out of control,' his mother said. His father made a non-committal grunt from somewhere behind the newspaper. Sarah looked up from the book she was reading and, catching hold of Toby's chin, forced him to look at her.

'He offered her a crystal. He offered her her own dreams – do you understand? But she still said no. Even though she didn't really know what it was he was offering her, she still said no. Do you see what that means? Do you?'

Toby shook his head. Her grip tightened on his face so that he could feel her nails digging into his skin. 'I said, do you understand, Goblin-Boy?' She laughed, letting go of his face, and then ran away from him. Toby stood staring after her and then he felt something brushing his cheek. The soft wings of a white owl. Toby started to run.

* * *

Sarah thrashed helplessly in the darkness, heat and cold chasing each other through her veins. She was running – running the way she did every night, bit still with the feeling that the danger was in front of her, waiting for her, but somehow she could not stop herself from heading straight for it. Her lungs were almost bursting from the need for air and she knew that she had to slow down, had to stop. Over the tumult of her thoughts, she heard a voice – high and far away at first, but drawing steadily nearer. Sarah felt herself coming to a halt, as though a magnetic force was holding her back. She was standing in the midst of a ruin, with dying stars and purple clouds swirling around her. And that voice was calling her name. Out of the shadows came a figure – sturdily built, yet still slender, and tall for his age.

'T-Toby?' she gasped, her voice sounding weak.

His face came into focus far more clearly than it had for many days. He approached her resolutely.

'Sarah, you have to listen to me. You're in real danger, and you're not in the Underground at all!' He tried to keep his voice level and to tell her what was happening as calmly as he could. 'I know you think that you're with Jareth, but you're not – it was a trick. The guy who you think is Jareth is really an enemy of the Underground.'

Sarah made no reply, but simply stared at this apparition.

'I'm not explaining this very well,' Toby continued – he was starting to look distressed. 'But you have to believe me, Sarah! Please. You're not in the Underground.'

'How do you know all this?' she found her voice at last.

'Because I'm in the Labyrinth, with Jareth.'

This was a dream, she told herself. Even though she could see her brother's face so clearly, she knew she had to be imagining it.

'None of this is real,' she whispered.

Toby nodded energetically. 'That's right! Jareth told me that I could find you through our dreams, and he was right! Man, you should've seen some of the things that I dreamt about…'

It certainly sounded just like the real Toby, Sarah thought. But even as he was speaking, his voice began to sound further away.

'What's happening? She's fading!' she heard him say.

'She's waking up.'

Sarah knew that voice. Through the haze that was starting to descend around Toby, she saw another figure step out of the shadows. His feather-lined cloak swirled about him, and his face was as pale as death.

'Sarah, you have to come back with us! Please, you have to come now!'

She heard Toby's voice, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the face of the second figure. Even through the dense haze, his eyes seemed to bore into her, stripping the secrets of her soul.

'Remember, Sarah. Remember.'

It was as though he were speaking inside her head. There was something in his hand, which he now threw at her. Instinctively, Sarah tried to catch it, just as the image of her brother and Jareth shattered before her eyes, Toby's voice crying out her name.

Sarah sat bolt upright in bed, daylight streaming through her window. As she threw the bedcovers back, she heard a dull clinking as a crystal rolled across the floor.

* * *

It was, Sarah was sure, almost breakfast time. Jareth would be calling for her soon. She felt an inexplicable wave of revulsion at the thought, but then immediately tried to shake it off. It had only been a bad dream. Her head throbbed and she reached for the jug, and then stopped. Instead, Sarah's eyes wandered to the crystal that was carefully balanced on her dressing table.

' _Remember.'_

She shuddered slightly. What was she supposed to remember? That once she had been very frightened in this place? That she had believed Jareth to stand for everything that was evil? That nothing was what it seemed?

A tap on the door. 'Sarah, are you ready?'

She started. 'Al-almost. You go on down, I'll be with you in a minute,' she called back.

Once again she looked longingly at the jug on the table, but once again restrained herself. Despite the headache, Sarah felt that she was remembering things more clearly, and she wanted to cling onto the image of Toby's face for just a little while longer. She picked up the crystal and put it into the little pouch she carried with her, then left the room. Jareth was at the end of her corridor – whether he had been waiting for her she could not have said, but as she stepped into the passage, he turned to her.

'… _you think you're with Jareth, but you're not…an enemy of the Underground…'_

The ghostly voices filled her ears. Sarah stopped dead and met Jareth's eyes. Whether it was the effect of her communication with Toby, or simply her senses heightened by her feverish state, Sarah was suddenly blasted by a terrible image. The Labyrinth a scene of utter destruction, all its beauty crushed beneath a darkness that seemed like a living being. The Goblins themselves were slaves, imprisoned in machines that were feeding off their lifeblood and their spirit, the castle replaced by jagged, towering spires.

'Sarah!' Jareth took a step toward her, but his voice sounded harsh, rasping in the back of his throat. And to her eyes his face was suddenly contorted, unrecognizable.

Sarah let out a cry, staggering, trying to support herself against the wall behind her.

' _Come on, Sarah! Come to us! Come to me…'_

She saw Toby's face clearly in front of her and without another thought, she turned and fled. Running blindly down the corridor, she was aware of something pursuing her – yet even in this state she realized that the castle was slowly disintegrating around her, leaving vast chunks of nothingness in its wake.

' _The crystal, use the crystal…'_

Toby was in the Labyrinth, it was the only thought she could cling onto. Toby was there, and she had to be with him, see him, protect him. She didn't turn to look back, but she knew that he was drawing closer. Jareth, or not Jareth – she didn't know anymore. All she knew was that she couldn't bear to look at him, and that she couldn't run anymore. She felt as though her lungs and heart would burst with the effort. Jareth.

'… _I'll be there for you…'_

Plunging her hand into the pouch, her fingers closed around the cold globe and she screamed into the darkness that was engulfing her.

'I wish I was in the Underground, right now!'


	10. Just a Little Girl With Grey Eyes

It would have been easy, so easy, to give in to the darkness around her. Every sense was oppressed by it, as though she were drowning in thick black honey. But there was something else that forced her to fight back, to claw her way out of this oblivion. She couldn't tell if her eyes were opened or closed, but then a brilliant light seared across her vision and the pain was almost enough to make her slip back into the black stillness.

Almost, but not quite.

Voices were calling to her and fragments of songs – partly strange, partly familiar – touched the edges of her consciousness. Another effort and the searing pain faded, leaving a dull, aching throb in its place. Unpleasant, but at least bearable. The light was not quite as dazzling now, and she was able to make out a figure hovering over her, calling her name gently.

A face was coming more into focus and a pair of eyes. Beautiful, shifting, mismatched eyes that she knew so well…

And then the terror of her desperate run through the castle came back to her, and the distorted face that had looked at her with so much cold hatred sprang into her memory. 'Get away from me!'

Sarah flailed hopelessly, trying to beat away the apparition. She had pushed herself up on one arm, but could already feel her strength draining out of her. Her voice was hoarse and rasping. 'Don't come near me! Stay away… I thought you were dead… I wish you were dead!'

Jareth stepped away from her, his arms dropping to his sides. 'Delaine…'

He watched as his sister took his place at Sarah's side, gently calming the young woman until she finally lay back on the cool white linen.

Delaine glanced over her shoulder: Jareth stood, pale and stricken, observing them both. Sarah was still terribly weak, and while the drugs worked their way out of her system, she would have little idea of what was going on around her. But the knowledge of this did not stop Delaine from feeling her brother's pain. For two days and two nights he had kept a constant vigil over Sarah's bedside, using the skill and power he had to call her back.

'She needs time, Jareth,' Delaine said softly, one hand still running over Sarah's fevered brow. 'Just a little more time.'

He raised his head slightly, gazing at her wordlessly for a moment. 'I know,' he said and then abruptly left the room.

He closed the door behind him, leaning against it, before becoming aware that Toby was sitting on the floor outside Sarah's room. The boy scrambled to his feet, gazing up anxiously at the older man.

'Is she okay? Can I see her now? Please?'

Jareth had tried to keep Toby away from Sarah: he had allowed one brief visit the night she had arrived, but since then had kept them apart. Sarah had been a risk to herself and everyone around her, but Jareth knew, deep down, that she would never harm Toby. Yet Jareth had had no desire to upset the child by letting him see his sister in the state she had been in. Now, however…

Now, having her brother with her might do some good. Her animosity was saved for Jareth alone. He smiled bitterly to himself – it had never been any other way.

'Yes, go in and see her.'

Toby hesitated for a moment. Even through the heavy oak door and the stone walls, he had heard Sarah's voice raised against the Goblin King. Young as he was, he could see the pain in Jareth's eyes, but had no idea what to say or how to act. Instead, he dropped his gaze and moved to open the door to his sister's room.

Jareth watched as the slender blonde entered and stood, still, as the door was closed silently in his face, before stalking moodily down the corridors of his castle. Any Goblins who happened to be in his way flattened themselves against the walls as he passed them. Their devotion to their King did not extend to actively wishing his wrath to be broken needlessly on their bony heads.

Jareth threw open the doors to the throne room which was, for once, blessedly empty. Almost empty. He barely glanced at the figure leaning against one arm of the throne, but strode across to stare out of a window.

'What can I do,Ambrosius?' he asked eventually.

'Nothing.'

Jareth wheeled around furiously. 'Nothing?'

'Exactly. The only thing you can give her is the one thing she needs: time. And in order to do that, you need … well ... time.'

'That's what Delaine said,' he muttered.

'She shows wisdom.' Ambrosius allowed himself a small, self-congratulatory smile. 'I taught her well.'

'You always spoke in riddles,' Jareth growled, turning again to stare haughtily out of the window.

'How many people do you need to tell you things you already know?'

Silence.

The old man watched him for a moment and then sighed, rousing himself from his position by the throne and crossed the room.

'You take too much on yourself, Jareth. You are not to blame for this.'

'I was supposed to protect her,' the younger man replied, for the first time a hint of vulnerability in his voice. 'I was supposed to watch over her.'

'And you did that,' Ambrosius informed him firmly. 'Admirably. No one could have done more. And you could not have known what was going to happen,' he added, raising his voice over Jareth's objections. 'Khazad is an ancient evil and an insidious one. Even I could not tell that this would happen and, considering the benefit of my foresight, that is a terrible failing to admit to.'

Jareth turned to him, his eyes earnestly raking the old man's face. 'What can I do?'

'Nothing, yet. The borders of the Underground are as secure as they can be for the moment. When Sarah is recovered, then we will have more power at our disposal and while she is here, you can keep her safe.'

The Goblin King considered this and then nodded.

The two men stood, looking out over the Underground and hoping for salvation.

* * *

Her second waking was easier and far less painful than the first. The bed was wonderfully comfortable, the light shaded and a cool breeze played over her skin. Sarah was able to push herself up slightly and look at her surroundings. The room was large and beautifully furnished. Lots of white, was the overall impression.

'Hello.'

Sarah started, turning to see a woman sitting in a chair on the other side of the bed. Her blonde hair fell softly around her face and she was smiling slightly.

'I know you…' Sarah said, wonderingly. There was an ill-defined memory, something stirring vaguely… And then it came back to her: the bookstore and Toby's birthday present. 'You're Delaine King. But … but, how? What are you…'

The eyes. The woman had Toby's eyes. Jareth's eyes.

'Who are you?'

Delaine laid a hand on Sarah's arm and she recoiled slightly. 'My name you already know. I am Jareth's sister. I came home to help my brother rescue you. Does that answer everything for the time being?'

'Yes. No, I …' Her head was spinning again. 'I'm still in the Underground? But …' Sarah felt a sense of rising panic. She had been running, running and trying to get away from this place and from him, but now she was still trapped here.

'Perhaps some one else would be better to explain it to you.'

Her voice was so comforting, so musical that Sarah wanted to trust her implicitly. She looked into those extraordinary eyes and then looked to where Delaine was pointing.

A small, blonde figure was curled up on a sofa, fast asleep.

'Toby?'

As if he had heard her, the boy moved, raising his head and a pair of bleary eyes to hers. He stared at her for a moment and then his eyes widened. 'Sarah! You're awake!'

She managed a smile. 'Apparently.'

A small blonde whirlwind landed on the bed next to her and a pair of thin arms went around her neck. 'Are you okay? Does it hurt? I didn't think you were going to wake up and I-'

He was cut off as Sarah held him to her. She was trembling slightly, a combination of relief and residual fear. 'Yes, I'm okay and no, I'm not in pain.' She pulled back and brushed the hair away from his forehead. 'I'm fine. Just thirsty.'

Toby bounced across the bed and picked up a goblet from the nightstand. 'Here.'

Sarah looked at it.

Her brother sat expectantly for a moment and then frowned. 'It's nice. You'll like it. It's peach juice.'

'Peace juice,' she repeated.

'Yeah.' He inspected the contents. 'It's okay, you know. There's nothing wrong with it. See...' He swallowed a large mouthful, grinned at her and then held out the goblet to her.

She took it and peered at it before raising it slowly to her lips. It tasted wonderful, as though she were drinking liquid sunshine. She felt calmer, her head clearer. Sarah replaced the goblet and looked around her. Delaine had slipped out of the room and she was alone with her brother. She took hold of his shoulders and looked earnestly into his face. 'Toby, we're going to get out of here, okay?'

'Huh?'

'There's nothing to worry about, I promise you.'

'I know that. You're safe now. I rescued you. Well, Jareth helped, but it was mainly me. Hey, should I go get him?'

'No!' She shook him slightly. 'Jareth isn't a good person, Toby.'

'Yes he is!'

'No, he isn't!' He squirmed and she tried to recapture him in a firmer grip. 'You can't trust him!'

Toby pulled away from her. 'You don't know him.'

'I don't know him? Toby, you have no idea what he did-'

'Yeah I do! I saw it!'

'You ... you saw it?' Her voice faltered.

Toby stared at the counterpane, picking at a golden thread. 'In a crystal. It was kinda like watching a movie, only like being inside a movie. Anyway, I saw everything. When you asked the Goblins to take me away.'

Sarah felt her stomach contract. He was never supposed to have known about that. Of course, Jareth would have told him all about it. She could imagine the relish with which he would recount every detail, every failure, every wrong turn of her journey. 'Toby... I was so wrong, I know that. I knew it then. I-'

'S'okay, Sarah.' His thin shoulders shrugged.

'Jareth shouldn't have told you.'

'He didn't. He wasn't even there, he was fixing a rup-, a, er, rip? Um, a something in the Underground, which was kinda scary, I guess, 'cos I thought you'd told Kaz-thingy how to get in, but you didn't, so that's cool. Anyway, there was this crystal and I could see you in it and then the whole story started and then Jareth came back and said I shouldn't be angry with you 'cos you were really brave and I said I wasn't. And I'm not.'

Sarah stared at him for a few moments. 'Ok-ay... Toby, I want you tell me everything that happened after I left. Slowly.'

He gave her a long suffering look and sighed. The whole story left Sarah feeling in need of more peach juice. Jareth appearing in Toby's room she could well imagine; the news that she apparently had some unknown powers connecting her to the Underground came as something of a shock; the fact that the man she had spent the last few days with had not actually been Jareth was something that she wanted to believe.

The man who had appeared to Toby sounded so like and yet so unlike the Jareth she remembered that a part of her wasn't completely convinced that where they were now was the real Underground. Toby had talked himself hoarse and had fallen silent. Through the open window came a sweet, fresh sound. Birdsong. She turned her head to listen.

The door opened and Delaine entered again. 'Toby, would you go down to the study?'

He slid off the bed before she could stop him. 'It's okay, Sarah. I'll see you later.'

Delaine smiled down at him as he passed her, but he didn't quite look up at her. 'There are some visitors here for you, Sarah.'

Sarah stiffened and scrutinised the other woman's face. 'What sort of visitors?'

Delaine's amused smile broadened. 'The friendly sort.'

The words had barely left her lips when the small cavalcade entered.

'My Lady!' Sir Didymus bowed so low that his whiskers brushed the floor. 'Thy return fills the hearts of thy loyal friends with the joy of-'

'Oh, give over!'

'Well!' The fox glared. 'I wouldst not expect a Dwarf to-'

'Shut up!' Hoggle approached the bed. 'You all right, Sarah? ''Is Majesty,' he added with only a hint of venom, 'says you been ill. Wouldn't let no-one in 'cept hisself an' 'is sister.'

The uncertainties over where she was and which of the strange worlds she had been in was the true Underground receded. She had no doubt that this was the true Hoggle. His slightly rheumy eyes were filled with concern and on his wrist was the bracelet of plastic baubles she had given him so long ago. The elastic had long since withered and snapped, but the beads had been restrung onto a piece of rather grimy string. Sarah slipped out of the bed and fell to her knees, embracing her old friend. 'It's so good to see you!'

Hoggle patted her head clumsily. Sir Didymus blew his nose loudly.

Sarah looked up at the large furry mound looming over them. 'Hey, Ludo.' She struggled to her feet and staggered, her legs still not as strong as they should be; she was swept up in an embrace that felt like being enveloped in a living blanket and found herself deposited back on the bed. Something wet touched her hand. Ambrosius, his eyes obscured by his scruffy fringe, looked up at her and wagged his tail. She laughed and ruffled his ears.

'I can't believe you're all here - I can't believe I'm here. I thought...' She trailed off and looked at the familiar faces. 'Toby told me some things, about the Underground being in danger - is that true?'

They all shifted uneasily.

'Well, my Lady,' Sir Didymus began, 'danger is not unknown to this realm. Thou rememberest thy own perilous journey and the many obstacles thy wisdom and bravery overcame-'

'Didymus,' she interrupted patiently, 'I meant dangers from outside the Underground.'

There was a longer silence.

'Ain't for us to say,' Hoggle muttered after a while.

Sarah, however, refused to give up so easily. 'Toby told me that there is someone...' she recalled the terrible distorted face that had chased her through the corridors, 'something called Khazad?'

Ludo let out a low, keening cry.

'His Majesty's request, my Lady,' Didymus said, his whiskers quivering, 'was that when thou hadst recovered, he would tell thee all...'

'But-' She broke off, looking at their faces. In the depths of all their eyes she saw the same thing - fear. Somehow, she knew it was not fear of Jareth. Ambrosius had crept onto the bed, his head now resting in her lap. Sarah smiled. 'Why don't you tell me what you've all been doing? It's been so long...'

* * *

They had, eventually, left her to rest. Sarah lay staring at the ornate ceiling, but she did not sleep. The attempt to reconcile all that had happened had become a little easier after the time with her friends. Her immediate concern had already been assuaged - Toby was safe and apparently as talkative as ever. Hoggle - the real Hoggle! - and all the others were the same as they ever had been. Her thoughts turned towards Delaine: she had seen very little of the woman who was, apparently, Jareth's sister but Sarah found herself trusting her. The only person she hadn't seen was Jareth himself.

She had spent so long wanting to see him again, even when she would not admit it to herself, and the same old confusion was still there - intensified now by the experiences of the past few days. If the man who had taken her on the night of Toby's birthday was not Jareth, then all she had to fall back on were her memories of ten years ago and she no longer knew if she could trust her own memories or her own judgement.

Sarah threw back the bed clothes and stood up, her head spinning slightly from the sudden movement. The strange, disengaged feeling had gone and she could feel the ground firmly beneath her feet. The large windows looked out over the Labyrinth and in the early evening light, the long shadows added even greater depth to its mysterious beauty. How much of it, she wondered, had been born out of its ruler's active imagination; or had he been shaped by it? Her only chance of ever resolving these questions was to face him again. The thought that Jareth may be avoiding her seemed laughable yet, given his conspicuous absence, it seemed increasingly likely. One thing was certain, Sarah thought determinedly: she was not going to hide from him.

A brief tour of her quarters led to the discovery of an adjoining dressing room and beyond that a bathroom. She yanked open the door of one of the wardrobes and found an array of clean, comfortable looking robes. Their jewel-like colours glowed softly and she spent a moment admiring their fine texture and the delicate embroidery that decorated them. She pulled one over her head and was amazed at how light it felt. A brush lay on the dressing-table and she dutifully passed it through her hair before securing her dark locks with a jewelled clip. Her face was still very pale, she thought. Sarah pinched her cheeks, ignoring the mocking voice in her head that speculated as to why she was concerned over what Jareth would think of her appearance.

Taking a deep breath, Sarah opened the door and stepped out into the corridor. She was greeted by a rushing, pattering sound and then silence. A glance in each direction revealed no other occupants apart from herself.

'Now, would you go left or right?'

Here we go again, she thought wryly and turned to her right. Immediately she heard noises behind her and whipped around, catching a flurry of movement out of the corner of her eye. The corridor behind her was empty. Feeling more annoyed than unsettled, Sarah turned back once more and found a Goblin a her feet, staring up at her. It emitted a strangled squeak and from the clothes it was wearing, Sarah gathered that it was a female.

'Er, hullo.'

It blinked.

'I want to talk to the Goblin King. Can you tell me where he is?'

'The King! The King! She wants to talk to the King!'

The chant was followed by wild giggling and as Sarah glanced over her shoulder, she was just in time to see a dozen or so heads vanish behind tapestries and bits of furniture. She sighed and looked down at the diminutive Goblin. 'Please, can you help me?'

It let out another squeak and scampered down the corridor, occasionally looking back at her. Sarah gathered her skirts and followed it. Twisting passages led to stairways and the sound of high, strange laughter assailed her at every turn. The possibility that she was being led a merry dance seemed increasingly probable - and then her guide came to a stop so abrupt that Sarah almost tripped over it. The corridor was lined with sun-bleached tapestries depicting strange mythical beasts; to her left was a set of ornate french windows that were allowing the late sun and sweet warm air into the castle. Sarah's guide let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a raspberry and scurried down a passageway - she was not particularly sorry to see it go.

As Sarah approached the open doors she could hear the rattle of china and cutlery and the patter of Goblins' leathery feet. She edged closer, moving forwards slowly so that she would be able to see without being seen. Over everything else, she could hear Toby's cheerful chatter.

'...would be okay, I guess. But what about Elves? I mean, if you wished the Elves would come and take you away, what would happen?'

'They would give you pointy ears and make you play the panpipes.' She knew that drawling, slightly sarcastic tone without even seeing him.

'That doesn't sound so bad,' Toby said defiantly.

'Hmm. But when you can't play them correctly - and they are far more difficult to master than you would think, boy - they make you dance on hot coals.' He was reclining nonchalantly in his chair, playing idly with a fork. The setting sun brought out the deeper gold of his hair and, despite his somewhat alarming words, his sculpted features were softened by something that looked like affection.

Toby had folded his arms and was staring at the Goblin King, but a look of uncertainty crossed his face. Delaine watched both of them and shook her head slightly. It was she who noticed Sarah standing in the shadows of the doorway and as Toby glanced at Delaine, as though seeking reassurance that hot coals were not going to play a part in his immediate future, he saw her distraction and followed her gaze.

'Sarah!' He leapt to his feet and Sarah found herself being pulled onto the terrace by a hot sticky little hand.

Jareth stood, drawing his cloak around him as he moved until the stiff collar of feathers stood around his face, the folds falling to his feet like a column. His face gave nothing away, but in his eyes she was sure she could see relief as he looked at her. Even Toby, ever talkative, had fallen silent as the pair faced each other. It was Jareth who finally spoke.

'Walk with me?'

Sarah nodded dumbly and then allowed him to lead her down off the terrace; his guiding hand fell away from her arm and she walked resolutely at his side.


	11. Beauty and the Beast

'Thank you.'

Jareth's head inclined slightly. 'What was that?'

Sarah breathed out heavily. 'I said thank you. You've taken care of Toby; you ... you brought me back from wherever it was. I should thank you.'

'And now you have.'

The tone was not cold exactly, more completely lacking in emotion. Sarah felt a stab of annoyance that her professed gratitude was not received with more graciousness. 'So, what's the game this time?' she inquired, keeping her voice as icy as possible.

A sardonic smile curled the corners of his proud mouth. 'Really, Sarah, don't you think you're a little old to want games? Did our last encounter teach you nothing?'

'I thought that's what you do,' she retorted. 'Play games. Trick people.'

'You thought...' His eyes wandered over her. 'You thought many things. I confess to being somewhat disappointed if you have not progressed since then.'

Sarah felt her anger rising again. 'You know, I can't believe that I ever dreamt I could have been wrong about you. You-you are the most arrogant, deceitful, self-obsessed man I have ever met in my life!'

'Really,' he drawled, coming to a stop and leaning insolently against a wall. 'And just how many real men have you met?'

Colour flooded her cheeks. 'What the hell is that supposed to mean?'

'It wasn't a trick question, Sarah.' He looked down at her for a few moments and then some of the hauteur seemed to leave his face. 'There, is that enough of a game for you? Do you feel yourself more on familiar ground?'

Sarah forced herself to hold his gaze and found herself lost in his eyes. It was an unsettling experience, though not a frightening one; but it did leave her feeling more hopelessly confused than before. 'I don't understand any of this,' she admitted. 'I used to think that I did, but... I don't even know if what I remember happening is what actually happened. There are so many things that I need to ask...'

'I have a few questions of my own,' Jareth stated. 'Why did you go with him?'

'I thought it was you.'

'I know that, you silly girl,' he replied, with a flash of his old impatience. 'Allow me to rephrase. Why did you wish to see me? For what purpose would you have journeyed to the Underground?'

With all that had happened, her reasons seemed obscured even to herself. Jareth's relentless gaze demanded an answer and, deciding that simplicity would be her easiest option, Sarah squared her shoulders. 'I wanted to understand what happened, I wanted to understand ... you. When you ... he ... appeared he told me that the only way that could happen was if I agreed to return to the Labyrinth. So I said yes.'

Jareth suppressed the desire to take her by the shoulders and shake her until her teeth rattled. Part of him was flattered that she should trust him so implicitly; the other was furious that she should place herself in another's power. With an effort, he bit back the words and stalked along the pathway. Sarah sighed and followed aware that, at this rate, theirs would be a very long walk.

* * *

Goblin chess, Toby decided, was a definite improvement on the regular game. It had been Delaine's suggestion for after-dinner entertainment and Toby's initial reservations had begun to subside when they had decamped to the throne room and an enormous chessboard had appeared on the floor. The Goblins themselves acted as chess pieces, which added an undoubted thrill to the proceedings. Toby watched, fascinated, as one of Delaine's knights clubbed a pawn over the head, dragged it off the board and then performed a wild dance when it resumed its place.

'Cool!'

'Oh, well played, Your Highness!'

Toby looked around twice before he realised that the voice belonged to what looked like a fox that had appeared at Delaine's side, realising tardily that this was the same creature who had helped Sarah through the Labyrinth.

'Thank you, Didymus.' Delaine's two-tone eyes found Toby's bemused face. 'Your move, Toby.'

Sir Didymus looked as though someone had plugged him into a live socket. 'Forgive me, my Lord! I had overlooked thy presence!'

'Er, sure. Whatever.' Toby gazed down at the little creature that had almost prostrated itself at his feet. 'Don't you wanna stand up?'

Sir Didymus replaced his feathered cap. 'I am honoured to make thy acquaintance, my Lord.'

'I'm not a Lord.'

'But thou art the brother of the Lady Sarah!'

Toby choked. 'Lady? She's not a Lady! You should hear her swear when she can't get her car into gear - y'know, I didn't know that girls knew words like that!'

Sir Didymus quivered from nose to tail. 'My Lady is renowned throughout the Underground for her courage, beauty and wisdom! Is thou not aware of her valiant quest to reclaim her imperilled kin?'

'Her what?'

'You, my Lord.'

'Oh.' He felt the tips of his ears burning with a sudden, unreasonable embarrassment. He looked over Sir Didymus' head at Delaine, in mute appeal. Delaine was watching the exchange with the same sardonic smile her brother wore and offered no help whatsoever. 'Yeah, I know about that.'

'Then your sister is the Lady Sarah, and you are the Lord Toby.'

And with the matter apparently settled, Sir Didymus sat back to watch the match and Toby wisely kept silent.

* * *

Darkness had fallen and their path was lit only intermittently by the full moon, which itself was frequently obscured by clouds. They did not venture into the Labyrinth, but prowled the castle grounds - they were extensive enough as far as Sarah was concerned. The night air was sweet but cool enough that she could feel its chill through the thin silk of her dress.

Sarah looked up at her companion. 'How would this Khazad even know who I am?'

Jareth stopped, staring fixedly at some unspecific point in the distance. 'Because he will be aware that since your time in the Labyrinth you have been ... watched over.'

'By whom?' she asked quietly.

'Your friends. And me.' He turned his gaze upon her and Sarah remembered the words that Khazad had spoken to her in her bedroom, wondering if his deceit could have any basis in truth.

'I have watched over you, from time to time. My doing so placed you in great danger and for that I am truly sorry.'

The intensity in his eyes was too much; she felt a shiver run through her and inadvertently hugged her arms around herself.

'You're cold.'

'I'm all right.'

They had changed location before she finished speaking. Sarah caught her breath and looked around at the walls of books and glowing crystals. Jareth waved his hand and a fire sprang up in the hearth. Ambrosius was curled up in one of the armchairs by the fire and Sarah was astonished when, instead of chasing him out, Jareth cast him a single glance and said nothing.

She warmed herself by the fire for a few moments, making yet another attempt to make sense of her own thoughts and feelings - not to mention the strange, mercurial being that was Jareth.

'Drink?'

'Thank you,' she responded unthinkingly and then suppressed a smile - the familiar exchange between host and guest making the situation appear so normal. A façade that was shattered in the next instant when the offered drink materialised out of thin air just next to her right hand. Sarah grasped the thin stem and for a moment felt strangely boneless. A few sips from her glass restored her and she faced Jareth again.

'So, now that I'm back here, what happens?'

'How do you mean?'

His tone was, again, unemotional, his glittering eyes unreadable as he watched her over the rim of his glass. Sarah felt the anger rising again and even though she was aware that this was rapidly becoming her default position when talking to him, she couldn't stop herself. Being angry with Jareth was easier than trying to understand him; and understanding him was a feat that she was beginning to believe was beyond the power of any mortal.

'Toby told me that I was kidnapped so that this Khazad guy could attack the Underground. I'd like to know exactly what's going on.'

Jareth pursed his lips. 'It sounds as though Toby has told you the relevant facts.'

'Toby is ten. He wouldn't know relevant facts if they jumped up and bit him on the ass!'

'Really? I'll pass that insight on to him.'

Sarah's eyes flashed stormy grey. 'He's a child. He's bright, but he's a child. I deserve to know what the hell is going on and as no-one else is doing any talking, I guess that means that you're the one who gets to tell me.'

'Lucky me,' he commented. 'However, as you are now out of harm's way, you need no longer concern yourself with the business of the Underground.'

'Well, that's not good enough. I know that Hoggle said you told him not to say anything to me but if I can't get the story out of you I can get it out of him.'

'Oh yes, because we can always believe everything that Hoggle says!' Jareth retorted bitterly before he could stop himself.

Sarah slammed her glass down. 'At least he tells me the truth!'

'Oh, does he now?'

'Okay, apart from that one time: but that was only because you made him lie to me. Why the hell should I believe anything you say to me when you couldn't begin to understand the meaning of the word truth?'

'I have never lied to you, Sarah.'

She laughed, incredulous. 'Oh yeah? What about Toby, huh? You said if I couldn't get to him within thirteen hours he'd be yours forever, but if I did I'd get him back and that would be the end of it, but that wasn't true, was it?'

His lips curled with the patronising arrogance she particularly disliked. 'You got him back, didn't you?'

'But what did you do to him? He's got your eyes now, for God's sake! You gave him that damned crystal so he wouldn't forget you and now he thinks you're some kind of hero!'

His smile broadened. 'He shows infinite wisdom.'

'And you wouldn't call that deception?' She glared at him in disgust. 'Like I said, you're the last person I would expect to hear the truth from.'

'And just what sort of truth is it that you want, Sarah? The complete truth? Or just the parts of it that you want to hear?'

'I want to hear all of it.'

This time his smile was triumphant, nasty. 'Very well. Let's start with your friend Hoggle, shall we?' A crystal appeared in his hand, spinning mercilessly between his fingers. 'Good old dependable Hoggle. And I'll tell you a little story. Once upon a time, the most beautiful garden in the whole of the Underground was right in the heart of the Labyrinth. Titania's Garden - a gift from the Fairy Queen to the Underground. Wood Nymphs lived there...'

The crystal had become a vista of incredible beauty - Sarah gazed in awe at the sun dappled garden, almost able to feel the soft breeze and the warm sun on her face.

'But then, as now, and as there have always been and always will be, there were those who wished to attack the Underground and conquer the Labyrinth. Hoggle,' he made the name sound like an insult, 'was a valued adviser to my father.'

Sarah started slightly. 'Your father...'

'He was trusted, respected. But as you found out during you visit, Sarah, his loyalty is easily bought. Only back then his price was higher than a plastic bracelet and a pretty smile. Our enemies offered him jewels. And he told them how to get into the Labyrinth. Then he told the King that diplomatic overtures had been successful and the danger was past; our defences were lowered and the portal that the Wood Nymphs guarded was unprotected. And that is where they broke in. There was a battle.'

Sarah wanted to avert her eyes, but could not. The crystal showed her the carnage of the battleground: terrible beasts and beings that she could put no name to and the desperate Goblins who fought bravely but with little apparent hope of success.

'All that was left to us was magic. The sort of magic that we have always tried to avoid in the Underground. It was a terrible spell and my father-' He broke off. Ambrosius raised his head and whined softly. Jareth continued, his voice controlled and weary, 'My father was drained by it. The battlefield was submerged...' The crystal stopped spinning and faded from sight. 'Do you know what the eternal stench in the Bog is, Sarah? It's the dead and the undead trapped beneath the surface.'

She felt her heart hammering against her ribs; her eyes were fixed on the carpet, unable or unwilling to meet his. 'Ho-Hoggle did that? But... but he's still here. He's not in prison, or-or exiled...'

Jareth sighed, ashamed of himself for his anger and his loss of control. 'It was a long time ago. What does it matter now?' For a moment his face had that same grey, gaunt look that had haunted her these past weeks; a branch broke in the fire, sending up a shower of sparks and the moment passed. 'What do you want to know, Sarah?'

She looked away from him and then something else that Toby had told her came into her mind. Something that she had all but dismissed at the time, but had been nagging at the back of her mind. 'Toby said that... He said that you had given me some sort of power.' She looked at him questioningly.

'Yes, I did.'

'What sort of power?' She felt proud of herself for managing to keep any trace of accusation out of her tone.

'The Labyrinth is not just stone and brick. The magic that binds it is a living thing - it needs to be fed and nurtured and in return it gives great power. That power can be manifested as magic,' he conjured a crystal and then vanquished it again, as though to demonstrate. 'Or it can simply reside within a person, sustaining their dreams and being, in turn, sustained by them.'

'But why me?' She shook her head. 'I'm just an ordinary person, why... Why would you do that to me?'

Jareth hesitated, looking past her. 'It was Ambrosius' idea.'

'Ambrosius?' Sarah laughed in spite of herself and, following Jareth's gaze, looked over to where the dog was sleeping. She froze. Where Ambrosius had been, a man was sitting, the firelight playing over his face. The face itself was lined and partially obscured by a heavy, grizzled moustache and beard, but the eyes that observed her were keen and black.

'It's not quite so ridiculous as it may sound,' he observed mildly. 'Leave us, Jareth. Sarah and I will have a little chat.'

Hearing someone give Jareth an order was only fractionally less surprising than seeing him obey it without a murmur.

'Sit down, my dear,' Ambrosius said kindly, gesturing to the armchair opposite his. Sarah needed no further encouragement, but sank down, her eyes fixed on his.


	12. He Was a Fortune-teller He Said

'The boy looks well, don't you think?'

'The b- Who?'

'Jareth.'

'Yes, he looks very g- He Looks fine.' Sarah's mind was reeling. Jareth was immortal; she wondered how old this man was if he considered the King a boy. 'Who are you?'

He twinkled at her. 'I am Ambrosius.'

Sarah moistened her lips. 'Ambrosius is the dog. Sir Didymus uses him as a horse.'

'Yes, that was taking something of an advantage.' Somewhere beneath the beard and moustache she felt that he was smiling at her. 'As you were kind enough to name your pet after me, I thought it only fair that I should take on his form for the duration of your visit.'

'My dog was called Mer-' She stopped, her eyes huge. 'No.'

'I'm afraid so.'

Sarah gripped the arms of her chair tightly and then the tension drained out of her body. Surrendering to the sublime surrealism of the situation was the only way she could cope with this latest revelation.

'It's very nice to be able to speak with you at last, my dear,' the wizard continued.

Sarah managed a faint smile. 'Thanks.'

'You still have many questions.'

She nodded, her eyes never leaving his face. Another glass appeared at her side and she took hold of it. Ambrosius settled back against the cushions, watching her for some moments. 'Sarah, did you never think it strange that what happened to you the last time you were here should follow exactly something you had read in a book?'

'Well, I...' Sarah frowned. 'I suppose I thought that it had been written by someone who had been in Labyrinth before me, maybe... I-I don't know.' In truth, Sarah had never really thought about that too much before: despite the fear and the danger she had experienced, being in the land that was so like the book she had loved as a girl had felt surprisingly natural.

'The book was written for you, Sarah.'

'Why would Jareth-' His last words to her sprang into her mind. 'No... You. You wrote it.'

Ambrosius smiled, evidently pleased by her deduction. 'Indeed. I wrote it and made sure that it was delivered into your hands. I knew that, sooner or later, you would call upon the Goblins, and then...'

'And then the whole thing would play out,' Sarah finished. 'You wanted me to defeat Jareth?'

'Oh, my dear girl, you still don't see, do you? Jareth can't be defeated by a few words out of a book, certainly not by those that have very little meaning.'

Sarah felt her face flushing: she had always considered her triumph over Jareth and his Labyrinth to be a great achievement; to hear it now dismissed so lightly was an affront. 'But I won. I beat him, I said the words and he vanished!'

'Yes. Because he was as bound to that book as you were. Poor Jareth,' he chuckled slightly. 'He so desperately hoped that you would see through all of that, but you really were determined to keep him as the villain of the piece, weren't you?'

' _I can't live within you...'_

Sarah caught her breath; his cryptic phrases suddenly made a little more sense.

* * *

If Jareth had appeared in the throne room in the hope of a little peace and quiet, he was doomed to disappointment. The chess game was in its final stages and the room was on the brink of a riot. He looked around in disgust.

'Where is Sarah?' Delaine inquired, catching sight of him.

'Talking with Ambrosius.'

'Ah. That's probably a wise idea.'

Jareth sighed. 'It wasn't mine.'

'Well, that much is obvious - I did say that it was a wise idea.'

Toby sniggered. 'I don't think Sarah likes you very much,' he piped up and then added thoughtfully, 'That's probably your own fault for scaring her so much in the first place.'

'I wish you'd make up your mind whose side you're on,' Jareth growled, throwing himself onto his throne.

'Well, Sarah is my sister,' Toby stated reasonably.

'Exactly. So he will support her.' Delaine smiled sweetly at her brother. 'The way I do you.'

'Hah!'

Jareth glowered for a few moments but then found his attention attracted to the game. Toby's queen repeatedly coshed a bishop over the head before frog-marching it to the sidelines.

'Oh dear,' Jareth said mockingly. 'It looks like he's got you in checkmate.' He sat back, smirking and ignoring his sister's narrowed, lethal eyes.

* * *

'There was no possibility that you would not solve the Labyrinth, Sarah,' Ambrosius' voice broke gently into her reverie. 'That was the point. Or do you really think that we have endless wearisome teenagers struggling through the Labyrinth in order to retrieve some unwanted relative or other?'

'Wearisome?'

Ambrosius' black eyes twinkled and despite the perceived insults his voice was warmed by affection. 'You did have many sterling qualities, my dear, but you were only ... um ... only...'

'Sixteen,' she said quietly. Little more than a child.

'Mmm, sixteen, yes. That is young, I suppose,' he said, with the air of one who has no concept of what age means. 'And you had all of the failings natural to youth. However, due to the circumstances of your life and your temperament at that time, I was rather concerned that those failings may become too ingrained.'

'So, it was what? Just some sort of test?'

'No, my dear. Think of it more as a, er, what's the expression... Ah yes!' He brightened. 'A learning curve.'

Sarah repeated the words silently and felt more of her certainties slipping away. 'You said that Jareth was bound by the book.' Ambrosius inclined his head. 'So, he was never going to turn Toby into a Goblin?'

Ambrosius laughed: a warm, golden sound. 'He isn't a monster, my dear. It was necessary for you to view him as an opponent and to believe that you may lose something precious to you.' This time it was Sarah's eyes that betrayed a flash of wry amusement. 'Yes, I know that you didn't think of Toby as very precious at the time.'

Images of the arrogant Goblin King flitted through Sarah's mind. 'And Jareth really isn't evil?'

'Evil?' Ambrosius shook his head. 'No, my dear, not evil. When I created the character of the Goblin King for you I merely exaggerated a few of his personality traits a little.' The corners of his mouth twitched. 'A very little.'

Sarah finished her drink, the glass promptly vanishing. She stared at her empty hand for a moment. 'Okay, I can accept all of that, I guess. But that still doesn't explain why you went to so much trouble over me.'

'No, well, that is where it becomes complicated.'

'Becomes? It hasn't exactly been simplicity itself up until this point.'

Ambrosius remained silent for a moment, taking stock of the dark haired young woman before him. He could still see in her traces of the girl he had known and he had enjoyed watching her mature over the years. It had been a while since he had seen her last; and as this was the first occasion he had ever been able to hold a conversation with her, he fully appreciated the woman she had become all the more. 'You are a mortal, Sarah; but you are not an ordinary one. You're smiling.'

Her grey eyes softened in the dancing firelight. 'Jareth said something similar to me once.'

Ambrosius tutted. 'That boy would keep going off the script... Now, where was I?'

'I'm not an ordinary mortal,' Sarah offered.

'Indeed. There was a time, many ages past, when our worlds and the world of men were more closely intertwined. The souls of your kind do afford you a sort of immortality; and for those mortals who were touched by our magic, well, a residue of that magic remained with them, even after death. Yours is an old soul, Sarah. Even though in and of itself it has no magic power, it still bears the traces of magic. I recognised it from the moment of your birth.'

'Wait, wait. Do you mean I'm a reincarnation of someone you used to know?'

He tilted his head, pondering this. 'Not exactly. Although I suppose that it is as good a way of explaining it as any - if it helps make sense of it to you.'

'Okay.' Sarah attempted a positive smile. 'Let's just stick with the reincarnation theory, then. And my old soul. That you recognised.'

'I recognised you as the person whose destiny was bound to the Labyrinth, because of the power you possess.'

Sarah closed her eyes and felt like weeping. 'I don't understand - how could you recognise my destiny when it's something that hasn't happened yet?'

Ambrosius conjured himself a drink and took a delicate sip, careful to keep his moustache from dipping into the cup. 'I did say that it was complicated.'

'You weren't kidding.'

'I knew that in the future you would be linked to the Underground.'

'Which is why you had Jareth give me some of the Labyrinth's power.'

'Yes!' He exclaimed in delight.

'But giving me the power is what linked me to the Underground.'

'My dear, you understand it perfectly! Oh I am pleased!'

Sarah was shaking her head. 'But... But...'

'Jareth wasn't certain, but I told him that you would understand. Although you have grasped it far more quickly than I had expected.' He raised his glass to her in salute.

Sarah felt as though her mind were trapped in Mobius strip: Ambrosius' logic seemed unendingly circular and yet she couldn't locate the flaw big enough to dismantle the edifice. She felt as though she would go mad and shook herself; she found Ambrosius' black eyes still on her. 'So this...' Her voice failed her momentarily. 'This power is what Khazad wanted from me?'

The lines in the old man's face deepened and the sparkle in his eyes hardened. 'Yes. By gaining control over you, he no doubt hoped to trick you into giving the power to him - or even take it by force, if necessary. And that would make it very easy for him to penetrate the Labyrinth.'

Sarah shuddered, remembering what she had seen in Khazad's eyes. Ambrosius sat forward suddenly.

'You saw it, didn't you? What he planned to do?'

She nodded. With more speed and agility than Sarah would have credited him, Ambrosius rose from his chair; she noted, vaguely, that he was far taller than she had realised, before he placed his hands on her temples. The images flooded across her vision: the terrible machines, the ruined castle and, this time, an owl - its wings broken, its white feathers stained with blood.

Ambrosius released her and returned to his seat, his head sinking down onto his chest. 'I see his imagination has not progressed much.'

'But now that I'm here,' Sarah whispered, her mouth suddenly parched, 'that can't happen, can it? The danger has passed, surely?'

He met her wide, appealing gaze. 'For now, perhaps. But having come so close to his goal I fear that he will not give up so quickly. You have nothing to worry about, my dear,' he hastened to reassure her. 'You and Toby are perfectly safe while you are in Underground and you will remain so when you return Aboveground - Jareth has put very strong safeguards in place.'

'Return... Yes...' What she would have termed her real life seemed very distant at present.

Silence fell; between the warmth from the fire and the low, melodic humming of the crystals, Sarah felt her eyes growing heavy.

'I think that is enough for one night,' Ambrosius said, rousing himself. 'You should rest, my dear. You need to get your strength back. There will be someone to show you the way to your chambers, don't worry.'

Sarah eased herself up, her limbs feeling leaden and stiff. 'Goodnight, Ambrosius.' She hovered for a moment by his chair; he took one of her hands and squeezed it gently.

'Dream well, my dear.'

Sarah glanced over her shoulder as she left and saw him throw a handful of something into the fire: the flames turned blue and in the weird light his strong profile seemed to radiate power. She crept through the door and closed it softly behind her, leaned against it and hoped that her head would stop reeling.

'My father used to say that Ambrosius lives backwards.' His voice came out of the darkness. Sarah let out a long breath as he approached her. 'That's how he is able to prophesy the future - he remembers it.'

'Is that possible?'

A faint smile played around Jareth's mouth. 'When you have seen as much as I have you realise that there is very little that is not possible.'

An answering smile found its way to Sarah's lips. 'I should have known I wouldn't get a straight answer.'

'That entirely depends upon your definition of a straight answer.'

Sarah groaned. 'Please, no more. I'm too tired for verbal fencing.'

One elegant eyebrow arched. 'Truce?'

'Truce. For now.'

Jareth laughed. 'Come. I'll show you back to your room.'

He was wearing what Sarah surmised was casual wear by Labyrinth standards - silk shirt, breeches, boots and the ever-present gloves. They walked in a silence that felt almost companionable and she could almost forget that he was an immortal being already hundreds of years old.

'Now what's on your mind?'

She started guiltily. 'I was just thinking that you don't look that much older than me; that's pretty incredible.'

'Mmm. One of the upsides of immortality.'

'And what are the downsides?'

'Well, the never-ending life insurance premiums are murder.'

Her eyes widened. 'You pay life insurance?'

He looked at her scathingly.

'Oh.'

There would come a time, Sarah thought mutinously, when she would wipe that smirk off his face for good.

'Well, here we are,' Jareth said, coming to a halt outside of a heavy oak door. He opened it ceremoniously and then stood aside to let her pass. 'Good night, Sarah.'

'Jareth.'

He looked at her expectantly, a flicker of surprise crossing his face at her use of his name.

'The other night, when Khazad came - you knew that I was ... thinking about you, right?'

'Yes.'

'But he came instead.'

'He was, no doubt, as aware of where your thoughts were turning as I. He appeared before you could call to me.'

'I see.' She bit her lip and then looked up at him again. 'Would you have come, if I had called?'

Whatever his answer was never passed his lips: instead he smiled, inclined his head to her, and vanished.


	13. Rise Up All the Way

Sarah had spent a great deal of time getting ready that morning: over half an hour dressing and then almost as much time again trying to make it appear that she had not gone to too much trouble. Breakfast was taken out on the terrace; Sarah admired the view as she ate and wondered if there was such a thing as bad weather in the Underground: it was yet another perfect day of clear blue skies and balmy sunshine.

She also took the opportunity to observe her companions. Now that she saw Delaine and Jareth together properly for the first time, she realised how strong the resemblance was between them - and wondered how she could not have noticed it the first time she met the blonde novelist. Delaine's lips were fuller, but she had the same firm, sensitive mouth as her brother and the same jutting cheekbones. Toby could have been the child of either one of them, she thought. Or their younger sibling. That idea was, somehow, not quite as unnerving as it had once been. He had been kitted out in what looked like new jeans and T-shirt and looked fairly clean and presentable. Sarah had no doubt that it wouldn't last long.

Breakfast, as far as Toby was concerned, was the time to pepper Jareth with questions and the Goblin King had been bombarded from the moment they sat down. Jareth made a great show of eye rolling annoyance but, Sarah couldn't help noticing, he neither patronised nor belittled the boy and answered each and every question with, for him, patience. By the time they had finished eating and the little group was heading for the steps that led down into the gardens, Toby had arrived at the matter of flying.

'You can really turn yourself into an owl?'

'Yes.'

'That's so cool! What's it like?'

'Feathery.'

Toby pouted. 'That's not much of an answer.'

'It wasn't much of a question.'

'Can you make me fly?'

Jareth came to a halt at the bottom of the steps. 'Is that what you want?'

The boy's eyes gleamed. 'Yes!'

'Toby-' Sarah began warningly, but it was already too late.

Jareth grasped hold of Toby's wrist and with an effortless, almost languid movement threw him up into the air. Sarah let out an involuntary cry and started forward, but Delaine's hand held her back. Jareth was still holding him, at arm's length, by the wrist, the boy's body horizontal and his eyes wide.

'Had enough?' Jareth asked casually.

'No!' was the inevitable reply.

Sarah watched in part fascination, part horror as the King whirled Toby through the air, swooping him higher and lower - but he never took his eyes off the child. Toby was alternately shrieking with delight and yelling instructions, which Jareth seemed only too happy to comply with. Sarah felt herself begin to relax and found herself almost laughing at the faintly ridiculous sight of her brother being waved around like a pennant at a baseball game.

Toby himself felt neither ridiculous nor frightened - only exhilarated. The world was spinning past in a crazy blur of colour and rushing air and he laughed with pure pleasure. It would have been wonderful to be able to do this unaided, but a small part of him was grateful for Jareth's controlling hold on his arm. He felt that same strength flowing into him, as he always did whenever Jareth touched him. When his feet finally touched solid ground again his legs stubbornly refused to go in the same direction as the rest of him, as though he had just stepped off a very fast carousel.

'That was amazing!' he breathed, gazing up at Jareth. 'Do it again!'

The Goblin King's face was alive with laughter and he turned his ever-changing eyes - now blazing with affection and mischief - on the boy. He tilted his head to one side. 'That sounded suspiciously like an order.'

'Please do it again?'

Jareth laughed. 'Not right now, Toby. I think it's only fair to offer Sarah a flying lesson, don't you?'

For a moment Toby was torn between pestering Jareth until he gave in and sharing the experience with Sarah. The decision was effectively made for him when Delaine said, 'I'm going across to the lake - I need to speak to the Merman Chief. Wouldn't you like to come with me?'

Toby's jaw dropped. 'Sure I would! Uh, is that okay?'

Jareth looked questioningly at Sarah. She shrugged. 'I suppose so, just be careful.'

'Don't worry. I'll take good care of him,' Delaine told her reassuringly.

Toby was having a few last words with Jareth (which consisted mainly of threats of what would befall him at the King's hands if he went anywhere or did anything without Delaine's permission), but Sarah noticed that he kept shooting sideways glances at Delaine, the tips of his ears growing slightly pinker each time.

Sarah smiled indulgently. 'I think my brother has fallen in love.'

Delaine's eyes sparkled. 'Mine too.' She called briskly to Toby before Sarah could say another word and the boy hurried over, the two wandering off companionably.

Sarah retreated back to the shade and safety of the terrace. Jareth remained still, watching until his sister and Toby were out of sight. Sarah leant against the balustrade and watched him: the sunshine brought out the warm honeyed tones of his skin and hair; he looked as though he had been dipped in gold. Then his eyes turned to find hers and Sarah felt her heart constrict. He mounted the steps slowly and as he advanced Sarah couldn't help but thinking that this was how a mouse felt when captured by a large and very beautiful cat.

'So, how about it, Sarah?'

It took her a moment to realise what he was referring to and then raised her chin with more defiance than she actually felt. 'If you think you're going to throw me around like a kite on the end of a string, then you've got another thing coming.'

His lips curled into a smile. 'And so have you.'

In the time it took her to blink everything changed; where Jareth had stood there was now a snowy white owl. Her brain took several moments to process the fact that the owl appeared to be the same size as her.

' _Or rather, you are the same size as the owl,'_ Jareth's voice spoke quietly in her mind.

The world and everything in it had suddenly grown much larger and was visible only at a truly bizarre angle. She turned her head from side to side and then looked down to where her feet used to be.

' _What have you...'_ She was not aware of speaking the words, but she could hear her own voice.

Where her feet had been were long talons, her legs covered by feathers. She spread out her arms and felt the wholly alien sensation of air rushing through dense feathers.

' _I'm a bird.'_

' _Oh, well done,'_ his voice was still annoyingly mocking. _'You are quick on the uptake today, aren't you?'_

She swore at him mentally and was mortified to hear his low laughter in answer.

' _Oh dear. That's really no way to respond to a gift.'_

Sarah managed to keep her thoughts more or less under control before she allowed herself to respond. _'Okay - so what's the big idea, huh?'_

The reply was a burst of images and sounds, as though she had been given an aerial view of the entire Underground at high-speed.

' _Wouldn't you like to see that, Sarah?'_ There was a pause and then another laugh. _'What did you think I was going to do? Put you in a gilded cage for the rest of your life?'_

Until that moment, she had not thought it possible for an owl to look smug. Torn between curiosity of what actual flight would feel like and the childish desire not to let Jareth have his own way, Sarah finally admitted, _'I don't know how to fly.'_

' _You have wings. Use them.'_

' _That's incredibly helpful.'_

His wings opened and she felt the air rush against her as he soared into the air, wheeling around her head before alighting next to her. _'It takes a leap of faith. But you've done that before. I would imagine that this would be more pleasurable than throwing yourself down a pit with no knowledge of what is at the bottom.'_

Sarah peered down from the balustrade she was perched on - the ground seemed terribly far away. She spread her wings and beat them experimentally, amazed at the power that nearly lifted her off her feet. Sarah screwed her eyes closed and jumped, upwards and forwards, beating her wings frantically. Her body jerked erratically and she was certain that she was about to crash but, somehow, she remained airborne.

' _Not so fast. Let the air support you.'_

' _Easy ... for you ... to ... say!'_

With an effort she forced her wings to slow and with an even greater effort opened her eyes. The shock was so great she almost tumbled to earth. The Labyrinth stretched beneath her, passing at an incredible rate. From this vantage it seemed larger than ever and she was momentarily distracted from the wholly unfamiliar sensation of flapping wings. Not so unfamiliar... It was starting to feel normal, natural even, as though the memories of countless other such flights were dancing on the fringes of her consciousness. She became more aware of the feeling of the air rushing past her and through her, the fact that her hearing and sight was far more acute. Sarah slowed her wings and found, to her delight, that the air current did indeed support her and instead of clawing at the air she could afford to only propel herself forward when she needed to. She felt an incredible sense of pride and achievement and then, curiously, an echo of it, as though she were watching herself from a distance and applauding her accomplishment.

' _Well, Sarah, how do you like my Labyrinth?'_

She gazed down at it, appreciating its complex mixture of formal arrangement and wild beauty.

' _A whole lot more than I did the first time around.'_

Beyond the walls of the Labyrinth she could see the hill where Jareth had issued his challenge to her - it was still a fairly desolate place but not all of the land beyond the Labyrinth was like that - she could see sparkling water and green enclosures. Small dark shapes - Goblins - were everywhere and she caught the occasional glimpse of red flame that betrayed the presence of a Firey. At the back of her mind other images lurked, images of the Labyrinth in its younger days; they were only snapshots, gone before she could grasp them fully.

Through it all, she was aware of Jareth's presence and admired the assured, almost lazy beat of wings and tried to match her rhythm to his. Their changes of direction occurred, at first, when Sarah would hear the spoken command; after a while such instruction was not needed, she knew where he wanted them to turn. As they swooped through the air, diving low and then rising on another current, Sarah was reminded of a ride on a roller coaster - and what a strange contraption to want to strap yourself into. She realised that the last thought had not been her own, and with that came the knowledge that the elusive feelings and images she had been experiencing were Jareth's own thoughts and memories.

He led her down into woodland, weaving in and out of the trees so that she could feel the leaves brushing her wings and then they soared upwards, higher than ever before and on the horizon, in all directions, was a shimmering silver-purple haze.

' _What is that?'_

' _The boundary of the Underground. Beyond it lie countless other realms and worlds. Not all are friendly.'_

Her wings were beginning to feel heavy and despite her longing for this never to end, she was grateful when she saw the castle growing ever nearer. Sarah had fallen behind him and she followed him over the terrace and up a wall that seemed to go on forever until they both fluttered through a large window set into the stone. Sarah's feet hit the ground and she stumbled, righting herself against the wide sill. Her body felt large and cumbersome, her arms useless. They stood on either side of the window embrasure, a shaft of hazy sunshine falling between them. Sarah leant against the stone wall, trying to get her breath back under control. 'If I could do that myself, I think I'd be a bird all of the time! How can you bear to walk everywhere?'

He laughed, looking almost boyish, his eyes dancing with that wild, mischievous joy that, she was coming to realise, was one of his defining characteristics. Still buzzing with the euphoria of their flight, and the intimacy of having their thoughts entwined so fresh in her mind, Sarah found herself marvelling that she had ever been so young and so naïve as to be fooled into believing that this man was her enemy. He was certainly not harmless - but neither was he the embodiment of evil that she had thought for so long.

'I'm glad that you enjoyed one of the positive aspects of immortality,' he commented.

She tossed the hair out of her eyes. 'Well, it makes a change from the usual dinner and a movie combo, I'll give you that.' He looked faintly puzzled, but a playful smile still hovered around his lips. Sarah laughed. 'You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?'

He shook his head. 'Care to enlighten me?'

He may not have understood the words, but he certainly seemed to understand the feeling behind them. He took a half-step towards her and when she didn't recoil he moved closer.

He could take her right then, she thought. He could take hold of her and she would not be able to resist him. She moved away from her solid piece of wall and for a moment felt as though as she were suspended in mid-air; then she felt the warmth from his advancing body, drawing her in.

The door burst open and a small wave of Goblins swept in, Delaine and Toby in their midst. Jareth retreated, his eyes fixed on hers. Sarah expected him to bellow an order for them to get out, to leave them alone. Instead, he turned to greet his sister and Sarah felt a great surge of disappointment; she pressed herself back against the wall, more disoriented now than at any point in this extraordinary day. A moment before she had experienced a wave of desire greater than anything she had known before and she was certain that he had felt it too. Now he was apparently fascinated by Toby's high-pitched, excitable babbling.

Jareth held enormous affection for a great many beings, but Delaine was one of the few whom he truly loved. At the moment, however, he felt like killing her. Or, at the very least, dangling her over the Bog for a few hundred years. He kept his eyes resolutely away from Sarah. He had not mistaken the look on her face, of that he was sure. He had waited long enough to see it. She had been caught up in the excitement of the moment - but how would she feel when that was past? As great as the temptation was to take advantage of her present mood, he could not bear the thought of her despising him - or herself - for it afterwards. If she truly wanted him, then her decision must be made consciously and without reservations. Perhaps it was better this way, he thought. He could not be certain that the danger posed by Khazad was over and until that time, it was probably safer if there was a little distance between himself and Sarah. Afterwards, perhaps, they would have a better opportunity. If that meant being patient for a little longer, that is what he would do: Jareth had become very good at being patient.

Toby, on the other hand, was not good at patience: spying Sarah still lurking by the window, he flew at her and dragged her into the middle of the room, talking all the while. He smelt distinctly fishy and Sarah held him at arm's length.

'What did you do, jump headfirst into the lake?'

He looked affronted. 'Of course not.' Toby lowered his eyes under his sister's sceptical stare. 'Okay, maybe I would've, but Delaine had hold of the back of my shirt. But look what the Mermen gave me!' He delved into his pockets and came up with a handful of glowing gems in colours of deep amethyst and emerald. 'Aren't they pretty? The Mermaids wear them in their hair. They didn't really look like how I'd imagine,' he added thoughtfully.

'Not beautiful sirens of the sea?'

He frowned. 'They are beautiful,' he said slowly. 'But, like, really wild and strange and...' He shrugged. 'I dunno, it's kinda hard to explain. And when they sing it's like you're in a dream, even though you're really awake. Anyway, I thought maybe you'd like these...'

Sarah accepted his malodorous offering of gems. 'Are you sure you don't want to keep them?'

'Nah, I got another pocket full.'

She laughed, knowing she should have realised that Toby wouldn't part with a gift from creatures of legend quite so easily. The stones gleamed and Sarah held them in the light, watching how the colours shifted and sparkled.

'They're seaweed crystals.' Sarah looked up and found Delaine standing near her. 'If you let them soak in some cold water overnight the smell goes away. Well, more or less.'

'Thanks for the tip. And thanks for looking after Toby.'

Delaine smiled. 'It was my pleasure. He's a sweet boy.'

Sarah looked over to where Toby was being taught some sort of dance by the Goblins. 'He could be worse, I suppose.'

'Did he ever throw your favourite doll down an oubliette?'

'Er... I'll have to go with "No" on that one.'

Delaine's eyes sparkled in a way that made her look more than ever like her brother. 'In his defence, Jareth did go down and retrieve it. And broke his arm in the process,' she added meditatively. 'He hasn't really changed much since then.'

Sarah couldn't help but laugh at that. Delaine floated back across the room, her filmy robes billowing as she walked. The atmosphere in the throne room was starting to resemble a party: Hoggle and Sir Didymus had arrived and were deep in conversation with Ambrosius. Jareth, much to her astonishment, was talking to Ludo; or, rather, Ludo appeared to be talking to him, with Jareth nodding thoughtfully every so often. Sarah wandered through the crowd and paused briefly to watch Delaine and Toby organise another chess game. She worked her way towards Hoggle and the pair of them watched as the Goblins vied with each other over whose would prove to be the better team.

'Hoggle, has Jareth ever... Has he ever talked to you about me?'

The Dwarf grunted. 'Can't say he has, 'cos he hasn't.'

'Great,' she thought irritably, no closer to working out exactly what she should do next.

* * *

Sarah wasn't certain how they had ended up in the tower. At some point everyone who wasn't a Goblin had moved from the throne room to what was the castle's conservatory. She remembered vaguely mounting the spiral staircase that led up to it, but couldn't quite remember how she had got to that point. Yet another of Jareth's caprices, she supposed. The tower was one of the highest pinnacles and the only thing that seemed to hold it together was enchantment. It looked as though someone had constructed the vaults and supporting pillars, but forgotten to put in the walls; the ceiling itself was either non-existent, or enchanted to resemble the sky above. Plants were twined everywhere, their sweet, heavy scent perfuming the warm night air and tiny fireflies glowed from the depths of the densest shrubbery. Tables had been arranged around the space, each laden with food and drink that replenished itself as soon as a platter or pitcher was empty.

She had finally had to tell Toby of her adventure that day and he had immediately turned envious and imploring eyes upon Jareth. He was undeterred by Jareth's avowal that as Toby was only ten, he would only be able to turn him into barely a fledgling and, therefore, would be unable to fly. Sarah was quite certain that Toby would not rest until he had worked out a way around this problem, and equally certain that Jareth was up to the challenge of thwarting his schemes.

Jareth. He had barely spoken a word to her since... Since that almost kiss. She was a little ashamed to think of how disappointed she had been. The rest of the gathering appeared to be in very high spirits and Sarah did her best to join in with their gaiety. It was, she thought, possibly the best performance of her life. All she wanted to do was go back to her room - preferably her own room, in her own home - and wallow in her self pity. And so it continued, until the party broke up and everyone drifted away and she realised that the only two people left were herself and Jareth. The tables melted into nothingness and the only light came from the stars overhead, the sliver of a moon and the fireflies.

Earlier he had looked as though he had been cast in gold; now, in the moonlight, he looked like a being of pure silver. A tendril from a creeper had twined itself around her waist, effectively pinning her to the wall; she swatted it away irritably and it withdrew, with what sounded like a faint squawk of protest. Sarah stepped into a pool of light and he immediately turned to her.

'Jareth, I...' She faced him resolutely, shoulders square and chin raised. 'I think that it's probably best if Toby and I go home.'

No hint of emotion flickered across his face. 'Yes, I do see. I suppose that you would prefer sooner rather than later?'

Sarah blinked, trying to read his expression and finding no clue as to what he was thinking. 'I suppose so.'

He nodded. 'Well, it's a straight forward matter. When you have decided when you wish to return I will have you and Toby home within a few moments.' He gestured towards the stairwell, as though making ready to escort her back down.

'That's it? You're not going to say to say anything more? You're not going to try and keep me here?'

'You are not a prisoner, Sarah,' he replied, a note of weariness in his voice. Despite everything, he was finding himself in the role of villain once again. 'You are free to leave whenever you want.'

Her eyes hardened. 'You know, every time I think I'm starting to understand you, you change. Again. And I can't keep up, Jareth. What is it you want from me?'

He hesitated. 'What I want isn't important right now, Sarah.'

'Tell me anyway. Give me a clue at least. You owe me that much, for God's sake!'

'Now is not the time.' His voice had that note of arrogant command; the tone of a King used to getting his own way.

Her fingers had balled into fists at her sides; she uncurled them and let out a steadying breath. 'Right. Toby and I will be ready to go in the morning.' She started towards the staircase.

'Sarah...'

She paused, turning her head.

'Your friends will always be here for you. And so will I; all you have to do is call to me.' He held out his hand to lead her down.

'I can find my own way back.' She swept past him, her heels ringing sharply as she descended the stairs. Jareth remained motionless, his face pale and closed-off.

Delaine emerged from the shadows, shaking her head. 'Idiot.'

He cast her a malevolent look. 'What was that you said about being supportive?'

'Hah!'


	14. Ashes to Ashes

The seamless transition from one world to another was something that she was certain she would never quite get used to. They had all been there to say good-bye and Sarah had felt a strange sense of foreboding, even though she knew that all she had to do was call to them and they would be there. Even Jareth this time. Perhaps it was he who had filled her with that dread: he had been dressed in sombre black and resembled not so much an owl as a large crow. His eyes had found hers in that last second and she had seen warmth in their depths. And then it was all gone and she and Toby were standing in the hallway of their parents' house.

'I'm gonna go see if they're all in the mirror!' Toby ran upstairs, remembering the celebration he had seen in Sarah's room after her quest in the Labyrinth.

Sarah looked at the clock in the hallway: it read a little after nine o'clock. The house was in complete darkness, Karen and her father evidently out for the evening. And only a moment ago they had been bathed in morning sunshine. She moved around the house, switching on lights. From Toby's room came the sound of numerous voices; she wondered if one of them was Jareth's but resisted the temptation to go in and find out. Her own small room offered little comfort: the few items she had kept since childhood all reminded her of something or someone in the Labyrinth and she was conscious of a dull ache. Something heavy knocked against her leg and she plunged her hand into her pocket, her fingers closing around a number of small, hard objects. Sarah stared a her handful of seaweed crystals and then deposited them on her dressing-table. The figurine still stood by her mirror; the stiff folds of cloth and the wild hair bore only a passing resemblance to the Goblin King, but in light of what she had learnt from Ambrosius, she wondered if this, too, had been deliberately put in her path.

She heard a car pull up in the driveway and breathed out heavily, hoping that Toby would remember that they were supposed to have been at the beach. The doorbell rang. Not her father and stepmother, then. She went down into the hallway, wondering who would be visiting, unannounced, at that time of night.

'Sarah Williams?'

Two uniform policemen.

'Yes,' she replied, too surprised to think that something was wrong.

'Your parents are Robert and Karen Williams?'

'Yes. Well, Karen is my stepmother, but yeah... What is it?'

Their faces were too serious, she realised.

'Can we come in? I'm afraid we have some bad news.'

* * *

She had managed to get Toby to go to sleep, finally. It had been one of the longest nights of her life and now, as the sky was lightening to a predawn steel grey, her brain still refused to accept the enormity of what had happened. An accident on the highway; the other driver had been at fault... The details kept buzzing around her head, but still made no more sense to her now than when the officers had first told her. She had clung on to the belief that it was all a terrible mistake, until they had shown her the Polaroids by way of identification. And then there was no question of a mistake.

Sarah closed the door of her brother's room. He looked so young curled up on the bed, Lancelot tucked into the curve of one arm, his face red and puffy from the tears. Sarah had not cried. She could not. Her own calmness amazed her, but she almost longed for the ability to weep. Anything that would get rid of the iron lump that had settled in her chest and only seemed to grow with every moment that passed. Her attempts to contact her mother had proved fruitless, although why this night should have been different from any other in that respect, Sarah wasn't sure. There were many times when she had needed her mother - and had got Karen instead. The truth was - and she had known it for a long time - that Karen had been more of a mother to her than her own had been. The one time she needed a mother more than ever, Karen wasn't there. She felt a boiling, irrational anger towards her stepmother. And then hated herself for it.

She opened the door to their room, leaving the lights off and sat on the edge of the bed. The air carried the mingled scents of her father's after shave and Karen's hairspray and perfume. She gagged slightly, memories flooding in. How angry she had been when her father had started seeing Karen; how much she had hated her for taking her mother's place; the moment when she had finally realised it was time to grow up and try to form a proper relationship with her stepmother. That had been the night she had got back from the Labyrinth...

She crossed the room and stared into the mirror, her hands grasping the mantelpiece until her knuckles turned white.

'Where are you? You said all I had to do was call you, Jareth; and I'm calling you now!'

Silence.

'Come on, show yourself!'

Shadows rushed at her, midnight-blues and blacks as dark as the robes he wore.

'Bring them back.'

'I can't.' His skin was taut over his cheekbones.

'What do you mean you can't?' she spat viciously. 'You're the Goblin King - you can do whatever you want.'

'I can't do this. I can't reawaken the dead.'

Her face felt numb, her words slurring slightly with the effort to speak. 'You can't? Or do you mean you won't?'

'I can't! If I could, don't you think I would have done it by now? If I could, don't you think I would do it for you?'

She hit him. Not a slap, but a hard punch with her balled-up fist. His head snapped backwards but he stood his ground, his eyes meeting hers again with no accusation in their depths, only a profound sadness.

'I don't believe you. I don't believe you!' she screamed it this time. 'You're a liar.'

'Sarah-'

'Don't touch me!' She lashed out as he tried to catch hold of her and experienced a moment's release as her fists pummelled against his chest. And then the tears came. Great, wrenching sobs that hurt from their intensity. She could feel nothing beyond the desire for it all to stop: all the pain, all the self-accusation... She wanted to sink below her grief, down into some dark place where she would never have to face it or anything else again.

Her sobs only subsided when there was no more moisture left to cry out; her lips were cracked, her face hot and damp, her body weakened from the strain. Her swollen eyes were still closed, but she knew that she was back in the Underground. She could feel it somehow. She was sitting on a hard bench and his arm was around her, her face resting against his shoulder.

'Where's Toby?' Her throat was hoarse and scratchy.

'With Delaine.' She had never heard his voice quite so gentle before.

Sarah raised her head, wiping her eyes and pushing herself away from him slightly so she could look at their surroundings. The room was small and dark and cold. She could could make out his profile, but little else. 'Where are we?'

'The Room of Mourning, I think.'

'You think?'

He looked around. 'It's different for everyone who enters. When my father passed it was all silver, with very high ceilings.'

Sarah ran her hands through her hair, pushing the heavy locks back; his arm was still around her shoulders and she leaned slightly into the embrace, vaguely grateful for the warmth of that contact. 'I didn't think that immortals could die.'

'We can be killed. But my father...' Despite the gloom, his eyes still seemed to glitter with their own fire. 'My father didn't die in the sense that you would understand it. He ... diminished ... and passed into the realm beyond the waters. But I still mourned him.'

Phrases from their conversation a few nights before drifted through her mind. 'That was... That was after the battle, wasn't it? The one you told me about?'

'Yes.'

Sarah let out a shaky breath and rested her head on his shoulder again. 'No wonder you hate Hoggle so much.'

'I don't hate him, Sarah. Not anymore. I dare say he didn't realise all the consequences of his actions. My father forgave him. Besides,' he smiled slightly, 'he guided you safely through the Labyrinth.'

Sarah managed a small smile of her own. 'Because you told him to, right?'

His arm tightened around her. 'I told him to make sure you didn't reach the castle. But then he helped you anyway.'

'Was that part of Ambrosius' script?'

She felt his breath soft against her face as he laughed. 'Probably. A chance for redemption. Everyone is entitled to that, don't you think?' Her reply was a stifled murmur; he glanced down at her and then conjured a goblet of peach juice with an imperious wave. 'Here. It will make you feel a little better.'

Sarah accepted it and tried to force the liquid down past the aching lump in her throat. Jareth's kindness was almost unbearable. A few mouthfuls, however, did revive her somewhat and she raised her head again, cradling the goblet limply between her hands. 'What was your father like?'

He looked a little surprised at the question. In truth, no-one had ever asked him that before. 'I remember someone tall and blonde and handsome. His face was always full of laughter. I remember him playing games with me through the Labyrinth: I would hide somewhere and he would have to look for me...'

'Hide-and-go-seek,' Sarah said softly.

'You know the game?'

'My dad used to play it with me. And then with Toby.'

'No matter how carefully I hid, he would always find me...' He fell silent, his eyes staring beyond the walls of their little dark room, briefly lost in memories that he had not visited in many years. Then he shook himself and his eyes found hers again. 'That was when I was very young, though. After the battle... Well, he was ill for a long time. But he still managed to laugh, even then. He always had time for Delaine and for me.'

Sarah raised a hand to his that was resting on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. 'I'm sorry.'

'So am I. Truly.'

Her hand dropped back to her lap. 'Was it- Could it have been Khazad who-who-'

'No.' Jareth shook his head emphatically. 'He could not harm them, Sarah.'

'But if he wanted to get to you through me, then maybe...' Her voice was barely above a whisper.

'Sarah, no! They were beyond his reach; this was nothing to do with you or the Underground or Khazad. It was an accident. Terrible, senseless, but an accident.'

She bit down on her lip but nodded, her eyes falling back to the hands in her lap twisting around the goblet. 'I loved them. Both of them.'

'I know.'

She raised her eyes to him again, great pools of shimmering grey. 'But did they?'

'Of course they did.'

'Jareth...' She pushed her hair behind her ears convulsively. 'Can we stay here for a while? Toby and me?'

A slight frown appeared between those arched brows. 'What about the rest of your family? Your mother?'

Sarah's chin trembled slightly and she shrugged, her throat tight again. 'My mother... My mother never really had time for me. I remember reading an interview of hers once and she was going on about how hard it was to have a career and bring up a child at the same time, but she didn't bring me up. My dad did. And then he and Karen did. And there isn't anybody else. I'm all Toby's got now and-' She took a deep breath. 'Can we stay?'

'Of course. For as long as you want.' His voice was reassuringly firm.

'Does that mean I'm running away from everything?'

'Does it matter?'

'I guess not.' She scrubbed at her eyes.

'Why don't you try to get some sleep?' he urged kindly.

'Can we... Can we just sit here for a little while longer?'

He smiled in aquiesence, settling himself against the stone wall behind him.

Sarah curled up against him. The room was no longer quite so dark nor so cold; the bench was almost comfortable. She inclined her head and brushed her lips against his cheek. 'Promise me everything is going to be all right.'

'Everything? Are you asking me to lie to you, Sarah?' It was nearly his old, familiar tone.

'Yes.'

'Everything is going to be all right.'

* * *

Jareth materialised soundlessly and stood looking down at the figure curled up in the bed. A small light was still burning on the night-stand, its soft glow dispelling the gloom. He had not realised before how small Toby was; lying in the huge four-poster, his slight frame appeared even more fragile. One eye of a battered teddy-bear was visible over the counterpane, the rest of its worn body clutched tightly in Toby's arms. The boy was asleep, at least; which was more then he could say for Sarah tonight. As though sensing his presence, Toby shifted, rolling onto his back, his eyelids flickered open. His eyes, bleary and unfocused, rested on Jareth.

'Dad?'

'Go back to sleep, Toby,' he kept his voice as low and gentle as possible. Toby obediently curled up again, his cheeks flushed. Even as he slept, a tremor passed across his face, twitching reflexively as though in discomfort. Death and fears of mortality were not things that Jareth had to confront very often, but that did not mean that he could not empathise with another's loss. He pulled one glove off and, very gently, brushed the damp hair from Toby's face. Then he laid his bare hand on the boy's forehead. Toby let out a faint murmur. But as the moments passed, Toby's face grew more peaceful and his restless movements stilled; Jareth's being was slowly filled with a gnawing, desolate agony. He pulled his hand away and watched his young charge for a while until satisfied that he still slept deeply and peacefully. He replaced his glove and left as silently as he had arrived.


	15. The Silent Ones

Toby looked far better the following morning than Sarah could have hoped for. She had a suspicion that this was, in some way, thanks to Jareth, but as he was absent from their morning meal she reserved her thanks for Delaine. It was, in fact, almost midday by the time Toby and Sarah emerged: Toby remarkably serene, Sarah's face pale and tired. He had stayed close to her as they walked, largely in silence, through the castle's winding corridors.

'You should try to eat something,' Delaine told her, looking pointedly at Sarah's barely-touched food.

'I know. Just not really hungry.' Delaine looked a little pale herself, Sarah thought; her long blonde hair was pulled back from her face, emphasising the shadows under her eyes. Sarah contented herself with a large cup of hot chocolate, finding its dense, almost bitter flavour very comforting. 'Where's Jareth today?' She tried to sound casual.

'Oh,' Delaine waved a hand, 'doing kingly things.'

As though on cue, they heard a muted roar emanating from the castle. A moment later, two Goblins came soaring out of a window. Toby and Sarah followed their trajectory with mild interest until they crashed to earth in the shrubbery a short distance away.

'There has to be a better way of ruling than that,' Sarah stated, watching as the pair crawled out of the bushes, staggered in a circle, bumped into each other and fell over backwards.

'I dunno,' Toby supplied, watching as the unfortunate twosome hauled themselves up again. It sounded as though they were giggling. 'They kinda seem to like it.'

'Toby!' The imperious tone rang across the garden. Jareth appeared on a terrace across from theirs, his hands on his hips and his eyes blazing.

'Sarah, can I-' He was already half-off his seat.

'Go ahead.'

'Thanks!' He ran off, stopped, ran back and gave her a quick, hard hug before racing over to Jareth. They both disappeared back into the castle.

Delaine turned back to the table and observed her companion, taking in Sarah's drawn face and lacklustre eyes.

'How are you holding up?'

Sarah stared into her cup for a moment. 'Not too bad, I guess. I just feel a bit numb; and like I'm going to be sick.' Sarah replaced her cup clumsily and ran her hands through her hair. 'I should be seeing to funeral arrangements. That's what you're supposed to do, isn't it? I don't have a clue where to begin.'

'There will be time for that, Sarah.'

'I don't really know what I'm doing here. I don't even know if I was right to bring Toby here... Although he seems okay this morning... I just feel so lost.'

'When our people pass, it is not their friends or families who arrange anything. The human custom of expecting so many decisions and responsibilities from the grieving seems very strange to us. If you wish it, all the arrangements could be taken care of for you. Jareth and I could easily see to it.'

'You make everything sound so simple. Just wave a hand and it's done.' A pause. 'I just need a little time to work out what I'm going to do.'

Delaine nodded but said nothing. She offered no platitudes or empty phrases and for that Sarah was grateful. 'Toby wasn't entirely wrong about the Goblins, you know,' she said after a while. 'They are not the most intelligent of creatures and... Well, you might find their ways rather ... unconventional.'

'I'll be the first to admit that I don't know much about Goblins,' Sarah replied, glad of the change of topic, 'but Jareth's command style does seem a bit brutal. I mean, don't they ever complain about that?'

Delaine leaned back in her chair, amusement alleviating the stress in her face. 'I don't suppose you've ever heard of the Great Goblin Rebellion?'

'I must have missed that day in history class.'

'Well, for a start, the rebellion wasn't headed by a Goblin. It was a young boy who thought that maybe the Goblins ought to have more of a say about how they were ruled.'

Sarah nodded. 'That sounds fair.'

'The boy brought a small delegation of Goblins to the castle to put the case to the King-'

'I bet Jareth just loved that!'

Delaine's lips curved into a smile. 'Hmmm. The King was willing to listen, but on one condition: the Goblins had to speak for themselves, without any input from their new leader. He explained to them that they would have to rule themselves, they would have to build homes and provide food and clothing and work together.'

'What happened?'

'As I recall, much shuffling of feet and shoving of smaller Goblins. You see, Goblin law - such as it is - is very straightforward: all disputes are settled by a fight and whoever is the biggest, strongest Goblin wins. Goblins have a lot of disputes, so they are always fighting. Therefore, nothing ever gets done, which is why they were given a king in the first place. Someone wiser and stronger then they, someone who would look after them and make sure that they did not harm themselves or each other.

'So, once the King had explained all of this, he asked them how they wanted to be ruled - by anarchy, or by a king. And he also pointed out that for the rebellion to succeed they would have to fight him and win.' Delaine drank a little more of her juice. 'Goblins are rather stupid, but they aren't that stupid. They knew that they were better off being ruled by a king. And the King knew that in order to maintain control he had to conduct himself in a way that the Goblins would understand, in the manner that they would expect and admire in a leader.'

'You mean throwing them around? They admire physical domination?'

'Precisely. I did say that their ways are strange. They see such treatment as a sign of affection and respect; they are not reasonable creatures and so if their leader tried to reason with them, they would think that he or she did not care about them enough to lead them properly.'

Sarah shook her head. 'Unbelievable. What happened to the kid? The boy who led this great uprising?'

Again that amused smile. 'The Prince learnt what his duty to the Goblins was and that he had to respect their culture when he came to rule them.'

It was still moments before Sarah realised who the juvenile revolutionary in Delaine's tale was. 'Jareth led the rebellion?'

The Princess nodded. 'Oh yes. He planned it for weeks. And even then he had to bully the Goblins into going along with it - you would have thought that that would have given him a clue that it was never going to work; but once he gets an idea into his head, that's it.'

Even though Jareth had talked about his father, it was still difficult to imagine him as a child, playing games and mounting an attack on his father's authority. She smiled slightly and then met Delaine's watchful eyes. 'Jareth told me a little about your father; he was very ill for a long time, wasn't he?'

'Yes.' Delaine's eyes softened. 'He passed when Jareth was, oh, the equivalent of about sixteen, seventeen, maybe. That's very young - even for us. He wasn't of age, but he had all the responsibilities of kingship. So you see, in some ways he had to grow up too fast and in other ways he's still a child himself.'

Sarah's thoughts turned to her own brother, with the sinking feeling that she would not be enough. How much of Toby's childhood would be lost if she wasn't able to look after him properly?

'As long as Toby has you, Sarah, he'll be fine.'

Pulled out of her reverie, Sarah looked up at Delaine's sympathetic face, no longer surprised at the uncanny ability to read her mind that she seemed to share with Jareth. 'Neither of you mention your mother. Is she still ... with you?'

'Our mother was a Wood Nymph.'

Sarah felt her stomach contract. 'That-that spell...'

The shadows had gathered in Delaine's face again. 'It was the only way. I don't think my father ever forgave himself. She was very beautiful...' Delaine conjured a crystal with a graceful flourish; in its depths, Sarah saw the figure of a woman. Her hair was dark, yet shone like silver at the same time; her eyes were the familiar shifting two-tone orbs that Sarah knew so well. 'Our father used to say that looking into her eyes was like seeing the sky filtered through leaves.' The image faded and both women were silent for a while.

'Do you know where Jareth has taken Toby?'

'No. But he'll be safe with Jareth.'

'I know that.'

'I think that he wanted us to spend a little time together today.'

'You mean like he thought it might help me?'

'Did it?'

Sarah considered this for a moment. 'A little.'

'Good.'

* * *

Toby stared down at the disembodied head lying at their feet and felt slightly queasy. The head - wild eyed and covered in tufts of wispy red-gold fur - seemed unconcerned that it was no longer attached to its own neck.

'Hey, your Majesty! And what have we got here?' It squinted up at Toby. 'Whoa! It looks like a little Jareth.'

'Maybe it is a little Jareth!' Another of the creatures - this time with all its limbs present and correct - joined in.

'Yeah, maybe we're all stuck in one of those time loop things!' Yet another, hanging upside down from a tree branch, stared into Toby's face.

'That's enough,' Jareth snapped.

A series of whoops greeted this comment.

'Ooh! I think he's getting angry!'

'I think he is, man!'

'Just one more word...' Jareth drew his foot back as though to kick the laughing head; it promptly flew up into the air and landed on its body. 'Now, get back to where you are supposed to be and stay there.'

The Fireys retreated amidst snatches of raucous song and appeared to be using one their own arms in an impromptu game of catch.

'What are they exactly?'

'Annoying,' Jareth replied between gritted teeth; he glanced down at Toby and his features relaxed. 'They call themselves the Fire Gang.'

'I saw them when Sarah was going through the Labyrinth.' The pair started walking slowly out of the woodland, arriving at the entrance to a formal, walled garden. 'They don't seem as much fun as they think they are. They tried to pull her head off.'

Jareth chuckled. 'Yes, Sarah did run the gamut of our residents, didn't she?'

'Uh, isn't that because you planned it that way?'

The King sniffed. 'Yes, well...'

Toby trotted along next to him, trying to keep up with Jareth's long, easy strides. He liked spending time with Jareth; he liked the fact that Jareth didn't talk to him as though he were a child or stupid, the way most adults did; he liked learning about this amazing realm from the man who ruled it. He just wished that Jareth wouldn't walk quite so fast.

Jareth had also not asked him how he felt, which Toby found was a great relief as he wasn't sure how he was feeling. Every now and again he remembered what had happened the night before and each time it came as something of a shock. His life was now divided into two distinct timelines: the one his parents were in and the one they weren't. Here, in the Underground, that seemed easier to deal with. Memories of Saturday mornings when he would crawl into his parents' bed and they would all read the papers - Dad the sports section, Mom the main paper and Toby the funnies - or playing catch in the backyard superseded the knowledge that they were no longer in the world.

'Jareth?'

A long pause.

'Yes? Well?'

'Why do I have your eyes?'

Jareth stopped abruptly and Toby was glad of the break. He looked up at the King expectantly. Jareth stared down at him thoughtfully. 'Why, don't you like them?'

'No, I do! I just... I just don't get it, is all. I mean, it's not like we're related or anything. Are we?'

One corner of Jareth's mouth twitched. 'I'm fairly confident I would have remembered if we were.' Toby's appealing stare remained fixed; Jareth shrugged lightly. 'Vanity on my part, perhaps.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'You reminded me a little of myself when I was your age. Or, I should say, about your age. I liked the idea of a child with my eyes. And I thought it would be nice if you had something to remember me by.' With that he stalked across the gravelled enclosure and Toby, groaning, followed after him. They had turned into a shaded passageway when Jareth stopped again.

Toby's latest question died on his lips.

The Goblin King staggered, stretching out one gloved hand to support himself. It was though an invisible weapon had struck him and for a moment he was almost doubled over, his eyes tight shut, his lips bloodless.

Toby gazed about wildly, but they were alone - there was no help to be had. He heard his own name muttered: Jareth's eyes were open but they were unfocused and he was groping blindly, searching for something. Toby caught hold of the wandering hand and everything shivered around him.

* * *

Sarah had reacted without thinking.

One moment they had been sitting and chatting quite normally; the next, Delaine had let out a cry, her body jerking and fallen, taking most of the crockery with her. Sarah had flung herself at her, only just reaching her as Delaine hit the ground. Sarah pulled her into her lap and found Delaine staring back up at her, her pupils so dilated her eyes looked entirely black. And then she had heard Jareth's voice. Sarah rose mechanically when he ordered her aside and saw Toby standing close by. He looked pale and frightened, his eyes fixed on Jareth. She crossed to him and he put his arms around her waist; she rested one hand on his unruly blonde head and felt him trembling slightly. 'What happened?' she asked softly.

He shook his head without looking up at her. 'I dunno. Are-are they okay?'

'I think so.'

Delaine was sitting up, supported by her brother. She gripped his shoulder. 'You felt it?'

'Yes.'

'He's coming.'

'Yes.'

She lowered her eyes. 'You were right. We should have consulted them earlier.'

'We can do it now.' Jareth raised Delaine to her feet, keeping one arm firmly around her.

'He's so much stronger,' she murmured. 'I had such terrible dreams last night, Jareth...'

'I know.'

She gripped him again, her fingers digging into his arms. 'But that's not supposed to happen! Not here!'

His face was remote and drawn. 'We shall speak with the Quaternion, and then we shall see.' He caught sight of Sarah and Toby and for a moment looked faintly surprised, as though he had forgotten they were there.

'Are you all right?' Sarah directed her question to Delaine. The Princess attempted a smile; the result was more of a grimace. 'I've been better.'

Toby had turned to face them, but Sarah's arm was still around him, holding him to her. 'What's going on?'

Jareth's eyes flickered between them. 'There is something that we have to do.' He looked beyond them. 'Your friends will look after you. Stay with them.'

Sarah looked over her shoulder and saw Ludo, Ambrosius, Hoggle and Sir Didymus standing in a huddle. Ambrosius looked grim, the others looked puzzled and apprehensive. Sarah felt her mouth go very dry. When she turned back to Jareth and Delaine, they had both gone.

* * *

The chamber was clad in black granite polished so highly the surfaces were like mirrors. Their breath frosted on the frigid air. Delaine met Jareth's eyes and, without need for words, they both set about their tasks. She moved to one side of the room and passed her hand through the solid wall; when she drew it back she was holding a small phial. It was so icy she could feel the pain of cold shooting up her arm. A blue flame flared up across from her. Jareth walked towards the centre of the room bearing the torch, his face was waxen in its electric blue flames and he looked almost demonic. Delaine shuddered. She removed the stopper from the phial as she joined him and then poured the contents in a small circle on the floor. Jareth lowered the torch until the flames licked the polished stone. The liquid caught and the circle ignited in a ring of black flames. Jareth took hold of her hand and they stepped into the circle. The flames climbed higher, engulfing them, and then died away.

The chamber was empty.

* * *

Sarah and Toby walked with Ambrosius; the other three lagged behind a little but Sarah could hear the low murmur of their conversation.

'What's going on, Ambrosius? What happened to Delaine?'

The sorcerer stopped and looked down at Toby. 'Toby-'

'I'm not going,' he stated flatly. Ignoring Sarah's reproach he continued, 'Jareth already told me all about Khazad - that's what's going on, isn't it? I was there before when Jareth ... when he looked all sick and stuff.'

'When was that?'

'When you were away.' Toby looked up at her. 'It was the first night I was here. And it happened again today when we were in the Labyrinth, but it was worse this time.' He looked back at Ambrosius. 'I know who you are, by the way.'

Ambrosius' black eyes twinkled. 'Oh, do you now?'

'Yeah. Jareth told me.'

'Jareth seems to tell you many things.'

'I guess. So I figure I have as much right to know what's going on as Sarah has.'

Ambrosius' beard twitched; Sarah hazarded a guess that this meant he was amused. 'He has a point,' Ambrosius said to her mildly.

She looked from Ambrosius' lined, wise face to her brother's defiant eyes and then back to where her friends were lurking a few paces behind them. She blew out a breath. 'Well, looks like we're in this together, kiddo.'

Toby grinned at her and Sarah reflected ruefully that life had been much simpler when his affection could be bought with a comic book and a stick of gum.

'You were correct, Toby, when you mentioned Khazad in all of this.' They started walking again. 'His strength has grown considerably in a very short space of time.'

'Is that because of me?' Sarah asked.

'I doubt it. You did not give him what he wanted.' His heavy brows drew together. 'If only I could see more clearly... If this matter could be settled without a fight, it would be so much the better for everyone, but I doubt that Khazad will back down if he has gained so much power.'

'What did Delaine mean when she said she shouldn't be having bad dreams here?'

'Just that. Nightmares cannot happen in the Underground.'

Sarah pursed her lips, remembering aspects of her own journey through the Labyrinth. 'That sort of depends on what you call a nightmare.'

Ambrosius' sober face lightened a little. 'Careful, my dear: you are starting to sound rather like Jareth.'

'Isn't-' Toby cleared his throat. 'Isn't Khazad a nightmare? That's what Jareth told me, anyway.'

The old man's face darkened again. 'In a way, yes. He draws out joy and hope and leaves behind his poison. What is it you mortals say... For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction?'

Sarah nodded.

'That is what Khazad is to us. Where we are light, he is darkness. If he is able to affect Delaine and Jareth directly, then he has grown powerful indeed. He will be trying to find a way into the Underground and when he does...'

'When?' Sarah looked at him sharply. You make it sound like he's already won.'

Ambrosius halted again, sighing heavily. 'A battle, I'm afraid, is inevitable. Sooner or later. It may be averted today, if the Quaternion rules in Jareth's favour.'

'The Quaternion,' Sarah repeated the word slowly. 'What is that?'

'Our final authority.'

* * *

Jareth had only seen the Quaternion twice before: once after his father died and once to dissolve Delaine's ill-fated marriage to an Elf lord. He found the journey there as unpleasant as he had the first time - it felt like being passed through a very tight vice and just at the point he was certain he would squeezed out of existence, he emerged into... nothingness. It was neither hot nor cold, dark nor light. He sensed Delaine next to him and found her hand. Even through his gloves he could feel that her fingers were freezing; she was breathing hard. Together they moved forward, pushing against the heavy air and feeling wisps like mist brush against their faces.

Then they saw it: the massive door flanked by great, solemn pillars. The Halls of Stone. And within sat the Quaternion: the four beings that embodied the elements, that held dominion over all the realms of the Fae.

Jareth raised his hand and struck three times. The sound reverberated and died away.

A dull thud sounded within and the doors swung open

* * *

'So, are they your gods?'

'They are not the originators of creation, but they were there when all worlds - including your own - were made; and they will be there when the last of them comes to an end.'

Sarah ran a hand through her hair. 'But you said that they are the final authority. They can end this.'

'Yes.' Ambrosius found a convenient tree stump and rested against it. 'But the Quaternion are neutral observers: very rarely do they intervene in the day-to-day business of our realms.'

Toby sat near the sorcerer's feet, plucking blades of grass and mangling them between his fingers; after some moments Sarah settled next to him, her skirts billowing across the ground.

'Jareth hopes that they will arbitrate in this matter. If they decree that Khazad has flouted the laws of our worlds, then the matter will come to an end.'

'How can there be an "if"?' Sarah demanded. 'He's attacking you! Khazad is the bad guy in this.'

Ambrosius smiled sadly. 'I'm afraid that good and evil are irrelevant terms to the Quaternion. They may feel that conflict between the Underground and the Darklands is necessary. Even beneficial.'

She stared at him incredulously.

'There are some kingdoms who think that a change of rule in the Underground would be a good thing - they very well may welcome a challenge to Jareth's authority.'

'But Khazad wants to destroy the Underground,' Sarah said, her voice tight. 'He'll ruin everything. I saw it - you saw it.'

'He wishes to harness its magic: doing so would undo most of what Jareth and his ancestors have achieved here. The Underground would survive, but it would be very different from what it is now.'

Sarah looked across the Labyrinth, remembering the first time she had seen it, the way it had looked when she had flown over it and the residual images of Jareth's memories of it that still remained with her. 'How could anyone think that that would be a good thing?'

'Not everyone thinks that Jareth's affection for the mortals is a desirable attribute.' Ambrosius' eyes glittered like chips of obsidian in his weathered face. 'The links between the Underground and the Aboveground are far stronger than any in other Fae realm. Some of our kind see this as a threat. Others view it as maintaining the tradition of when all our worlds were less removed from one another.' He stared into the distance before lowering his head and looking at them again. 'I do not know the outcome of this particular situation, but I do know one thing: if Khazad defeats Jareth, the whole of the Fae realm will be drawn into a war.'

* * *

' _Goblin King. Why do you seek us?'_

The voices reverberated in his head. It was not a pleasant experience, more as though some entity had crawled inside his skin and was burrowing through his mind. Four seats were arranged in a semicircle. Their occupiers had faces, of a sort. Sightless eyes stared over his and Delaine's heads; they had no mouths.

'You know why I have come, you who see all and know all. I seek arbitration.'

' _This matter is not for us. You have the answer, Goblin King. Surrender, or fight.'_

Jareth remained silent for a moment, swallowing his anger. 'Khazad has no right to invade my lands-'

' _He was once one of you.'_

'That was a long time ago. He no longer has any legitimate claim. Your judgement could avert a war.'

' _Perhaps. But you invited him in.'_

Jareth stared at the motionless beings before him. 'Invited?'

' _You accepted him into your kingdom. By doing so, you gave legitimacy to his claim. Therefore, his challenge is just.'_

'I did not extend any invitation to Khazad! I have done everything to defend my land and my people from him!'

Their voices were relentless, remorseless. _'You accepted pain. You accepted despair.'_

Delaine heard his sharp intake of breath and her heart sank. A suspicion crept into her mind and she hoped that she was wrong.

' _You allowed him into your realm. Now you must face him, Goblin King.'_

* * *

Toby looked up from his unhappy little mound of grass and looked between Sarah and Ambrosius. The wizard's face, half hidden by his beard and heavy eyebrows was impossible to read; his sister's face wore a hard, remote look that he found even more frightening.

'Jareth will win, won't he? This Khazad guy can't really beat him, can he? I mean, Jareth can do anything - he's really powerful.'

Ambrosius let out a long breath, speaking before Sarah could say anything. 'Jareth is powerful, Toby, that is true. But so is Khazad. And I just don't know.'

Toby turned to his sister. 'You always said that dreams are stronger than nightmares. You can make all the bad stuff go away if you believe enough.'

Her eyes glittered. 'Let's hope that's true.'

* * *

Their dismissal from the Halls was peremptory: one moment they had stood before the seats, the next they were in the castle once again. The gleaming black walls seemed to press in on them, but neither moved for some moments.

'What happened last night?' Delaine asked quietly. Jareth remained with his back to her; he did not reply. 'Was it Sarah? Did you try to ... comfort her?'

'It was Toby.' He turned to her eventually; the shadows under his eyes were like purple bruises. 'He looked so small, Delaine. Too small for so much pain, and...'

'You took it from him.' She laughed mirthlessly and rubbed her eyes. 'The mortals have a saying: the road to hell is paved with good intentions.'

'Do you think I don't realise how much I have let everyone down? Do you think I don't hate myself for that?'

'I'm sorry.' She crossed over to him and rested her small hands on his shoulders. 'We have allies. Help will come, Jareth.'

'Perhaps.' He looked into her face. 'It's all been for nothing, hasn't it? Everything we've tried to do to protect ourselves over the years - and then I go and give Khazad the opening he's been looking for. I may as well have flung open the castle and told him to make himself at home. They always said my fondness for mortals would be the undoing of us all, maybe they were right.'

'Self-pity is not one of your most attractive characteristics,' Delaine informed him coolly. 'It really doesn't suit you. And "they" are idiots, by the way.'

A sardonic smile flitted across his face. 'You look truly terrifying when you're pretending to be fierce, little sister.'

'I'm not pretending.' She sighed. 'What about Sarah?'

'What about her?'

'She's involved in this, you know.' After a moment she raised her eyebrows. 'Hesitancy doesn't suit you, either.'

'Sarah has a right to know what's happening and how we came to this,' he admitted. 'Toby as well, I suppose. I will tell them - in my own way, Delaine,' he raised his voice slightly, drowning out whatever comment she was attempting to make.

She stepped back from him, inspecting him as dispassionately as she would a tool or a weapon. 'I know you blame yourself for this, Jareth, but you cannot fix this on your own. I can help you, but you have to trust me. You have to trust all of us.'

'I do. I need you, Delaine. Ambrosius, too. And-and Sarah. But I refuse to endanger any of you more than is necessary.'

Delaine slipped her arm through his and started to lead him out of the claustrophobic chamber. 'Allow us to make our own decisions, at least.'

They walked in silence through the castle's winding passageways until they emerged onto the battlements and stood, looking out across the Labyrinth and the land beyond it. Below them on a stretch of grass surrounded by trees and wild flowers were Sarah and her companions.

'Tell them now.'

Jareth turned to his sister. 'That they should prepare for war?'

'It is the truth.'

'Yes.' He turned back to watch the small gathering: what they were discussing he did not know, although he could guess; from this distance they looked content, however, and he wanted to hold onto that illusion. 'Let's give them a little longer,' he said. 'A few hours, at least.'


	16. Something in the Air

The help that Delaine had predicted did indeed arrive over the course of the following days. Under normal circumstances Sarah would have been delighted by the array of fantastic beings that arrived at the castle. Some were inhabitants of the Underground, others came from realms that opposed Khazad and were willing to aid the Goblin King. Elves and Fairies - of different sizes, depending on where they came from - mingled with Centaurs, Satyrs and creatures that neither Sarah nor Toby could name. A small squad of dwarves arrived, all with the same craggy, weather-beaten faces as Hoggle.

The atmosphere in the castle had changed: Sarah had not realised how the air was always filled with laughter and snatches of song, until it stopped. Now the dominant sound was a low rumbling: the armouries - in caverns below the castle and stretching out beneath the Goblin City - had been working night and day and even the Goblins whose normal duties did not include military training had dutifully trooped down to clad themselves in breastplates and helmets. They were volunteers, not conscripts. Some of them were pathetically small; the sight of their determined faces was heartbreaking. Despite Jareth's strengthening of the castle's magical defences, the psychic assaults had continued: Jareth and Delaine had borne the brunt of them, but all the occupants of the castle had found their sleep disrupted by terrifying and frequently incomprehensible nightmares.

'If I thought wishes would help...'

'What would you wish?'

She had requested a meeting with Jareth - requested, as she had barely seen him for the past couple of days. They met in the conservatory, the only place in the castle where the grumblings of the war machine could be neither heard nor felt.

'I'd wish that none of this was happening,' Sarah answered. 'I'd wish that Khazad would say "Hey, you know what? The Underground is fine the way it is; let's just leave it alone". But I guess it doesn't work like that, does it?'

'Sadly not.' He joined her at one of the lookout points and they stared across the Labyrinth together. 'You and Toby should go home.'

'We talked about that.' She noticed his wry expression. 'Well, everyone keeps telling me that he has a right to know what's going on and a right to make his own decisions. He is a very bright kid. You were right - and you have no idea how much it pains me to say that.'

She was glad to see the stern set of his features relax a little. 'My, my. I do believe that was very nearly a compliment.'

Sarah smiled and then grew more serious. 'We've decided to stay.'

'Are you sure that's wise?'

'I don't know. I do know that I'm a part of this now and I can't just walk away from that, even if a part of me wants to. And Toby threatened to wish himself back here if I take him home, anyway, so...' She shrugged. 'He thinks we can help. He's having delusions of grandeur if he thinks for one moment that he's going to ride out to battle at the head of a Goblin army. I knew I shouldn't have given him _The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe_ to read.'

'Hmm, yes,' Jareth said thoughtfully. 'The last thing we need is someone quoting a talking lion.'

Sarah stared at him. 'You've read it?'

His eyes flashed with amusement and for a moment he looked like himself again. 'Delaine thinks it a good idea for me to read mortals' literature. You find this funny?'

Sarah wiped her eyes and raised them to meet his questioning gaze. 'I'm sorry. I'm just having a hard time trying to picture you curled up on your throne tucking into the latest Grisham.'

Another blank look.

'You obviously haven't reached late twentieth century fiction yet. John Grisham, he writes legal thrillers and stuff like that. My dad... My dad was a big fan.' Her voice was wistful more than sad and she saw her own emotion mirrored in his face. 'Can't you ... can't you just turn back time, or freeze it or something? Then this won't be happening.'

'Keep us all in one giant crystal, you mean?'

'Something like that.' She could feel her throat tightening and gripped her hands together until her nails dug into her own flesh. She wanted him to see her strong.

'Your faith in my omnipotence is flattering.' His voice had acquired a strangely husky note. 'That would be a wonderful idea, but I would have to alter time in every realm and every world for that to work - and I'm not powerful enough for that.'

The pressure behind her eyes was becoming unbearable. All the things she had wanted to say to him seemed pointless now. 'This is so...' She choked on the words, half-laughing at herself. 'So unfair. You don't deserve for any of this to be happening. None of you do.' He remained silent. She studied his face, aware that such an undertaking was unnecessary - she already knew every line of his features by heart.

'You know, I made a promise to myself a long time ago that I'd stop acting like a drama queen. These last few days haven't exactly been my finest hour - I seem to have done nothing but yell at you since I got here.'

'Understandable,' he said; his gaze lingered on her. 'Kidnapped, drugged, in fear of your life...' He paused. 'Goblins. It's enough to try even my temper.'

Everything inside her was slowly being squeezed until she felt as though she was barely inhabiting her own body. 'It wasn't supposed to be like this. Seeing you again... It wasn't supposed to happen like this.'

He was leaning against one of the pillars, the tendrils from the creepers gently toying with his hair. 'How did you picture it? In a crystal ballroom?'

Sarah brushed burning tears away impatiently. 'Yeah. Pretty stupid, huh?'

'Not at all. It was a beautiful dream. I'm glad that you enjoy the memory of it.'

A shout from somewhere below distracted both of them. A large group, marching in regimented lines, was making its way determinedly towards the castle's main portico.

'More reinforcements,' Jareth commented.

'Who are they?'

'Mountain Elves. I should go and speak with them.'

He was almost at the top of the staircase when she spoke. 'It's funny - that's the one thing I didn't think we'd ever run out of.'

'What?'

'Time.'

* * *

The Elven cloaks were a strange, burnished green that changed in colour as they walked, the way a field changes when the clouds scud across the sun. Their intricate breastplates and helmets glinted and the small platoon bristled with spears and quivers of arrows. Delaine was already there to meet them and they came to a thunderous halt before her, the dust churned up by their heavy boots slowly settling around them. Their leader stepped forward, greeting her with ceremonial obeisances: he was tall and dark haired, with slanted eyes of piercing green.

'Rajad. I did not think that you would come.'

A flicker that could have been a smile passed across his face. 'Did you think that because of our differences, Delaine, that we would not honour the treaty with your land?'

'I meant you personally, Rajad, not you collectively. I suppose I should have known better.'

'Yes, you should.' He paused. 'You look well. Life with the mortals must agree with you.'

'I like it. How are your family?'

'Well, thank you.' His eyes lingered on her face for a moment and then flickered past her. 'Your Majesty.'

'Lord Rajad.' Delaine stepped back as Jareth greeted his former brother-in-law; the two men gripped one another's arms. 'We meet in unhappy times.'

'The King wished me to convey his greetings and also his apologies that he could not spare more troops.'

Jareth cast an eye over the impressive, immobile array. 'I am grateful that you have come, Rajad. Billets have been prepared in the north wing, if your soldiers want to rest.'

Rajad bowed and turned to the ranks, delivering a peremptory instruction. The Elves turned with the precision born of long practise and, as one, marched in the direction indicated. Jareth offered his arm to Delaine; she accepted it gratefully. Rajad kept Jareth between himself and Delaine; the three of them proceeded up the steps and into the castle.

* * *

The throne room appeared to expand as needed: it was always a large room, but Sarah was certain that it could not ordinarily hold so many people and still have space to spare. Those gathered were not the regular soldiers who had arrived, but their commanders and advisers. What would have been termed the chiefs-of-staff in Sarah's world, she thought, trying to make sense of it all.

The wall behind the throne itself was draped with banners of black and purple bearing, alternately, the stylised image of a moon or a white bird - the ceremonial symbols of the Underground. The depression set into the floor of the room now held a miniature replica of the Labyrinth and its surrounding lands; as they discussed the battle strategy, it would obligingly remould itself in order to focus on the particular area in question. Her eyes wandered over the crowd until she located her brother. He had, naturally, ignored her instructions to stay by her. Equally naturally, she thought, he had gravitated toward Delaine.

Toby looked up at the Princess. Her face was sombre and the colour had drained out of her cheeks; she kept her eyes focused on the speakers, but when Toby came to a stop next to her she briefly rested her hand on his shoulder. He was silent for some moments, admiring the shifting model of the Labyrinth, but was quickly becoming bored with the interminable discussions.

'Delaine, can I ask you something?'

She glanced down at him. 'I can't really stop you, can I?' A slight smile. 'What is it, Toby?'

'How come everyone speaks English? I mean, I'd have thought that everyone would speak, y'know, like, different stuff.'

Her eyes crinkled slightly. 'But they are.'

Toby stared at her. 'Nooo, they're talking English. I know what it sounds like, and that,' he pointed to a Satyr who was discussing the logistics of troop movements in the woodlands, 'is it.'

'He is speaking his own language, Toby – you just hear it as English because that is your native tongue. If you were to speak to him, he would hear your words in his own language. It is part of the magic of the Underground. Well,' she amended, 'part of Jareth's magic, at any rate. This way everyone is able to talk to everyone else without the need for translators – and without the fear of inadvertently causing offence.'

Toby pondered this. 'That is totally awesome.'

She laughed slightly. 'I'm glad you approve.'

'Are they all going to fight?'

'Yes - they and all their troops.'

'Are you?'

'Yes.'

He gaped at her for a moment. 'Really? I thought...'

'That I'd be like a princess in a story book, waiting in a tower while her menfolk go off to war? The women in my family have always fought for what we believe in.'

Any thoughts that Toby may have had about emulating the child-warriors of fiction had been dispelled by the sight of the battle-hardened troops who had arrived at the castle. Even so, he kicked disconsolately at a loose piece of stone on the floor. 'I guess staying behind is easier than fighting, huh?'

Delaine glanced over to where Sarah was standing. 'No,' she said softly. 'Sometimes having to be the one doing the waiting is far worse.'

As each line of their defence was decided upon, the leaders of the respective armies would leave to instruct their troops and take up their positions. The room slowly emptied, until only Jareth, Delaine, Ambrosius and Sarah's other friends remained. Jareth stared at the image of his Labyrinth, the vista altering according to his thoughts. Ambrosius stood behind him - a tall stern figure, made even more severe by the heavy grey robes he wore.

'There is one thing you have overlooked, Jareth. One place where our defences must be strong.'

What little colour there had been in Jareth's face drained until he looked ashen. Delaine lowered her head. The image in the depression changed once more: an ugly, ruined place that even in its diminutive form seemed to envelope everything else in its desolate harshness. The Bog of Eternal Stench.

'The portal was sealed,' Jareth said quietly.

'No. The portal was buried - it is still unstable.'

Sir Didymus, his whiskers bristling, sprang forward and pulled his feathered cap from his head. 'Your Majesty, I will return forthwith to the bridge and my sworn duty to guard thy realm against all comers.'

Jareth towered over the little fox; the difference in their heights was laughable - the idea of Sir Didymus fending off an unearthly army single-handed, ridiculous. The Goblin King did not laugh; he accepted Sir Didymus' vow graciously. 'I know that you will do all you can, Didymus - and that is a great deal, by anyone's standards. But Ambrosius is correct: we need to strengthen our fortifications.'

'I'll stand with him.' That wholly unexpected voice was Hoggle's. Jareth stared at him and for long moments the two beings - the Goblin King and the Dwarf - faced one another, their eyes locked. Finally, Jareth nodded slightly and Hoggle responded with what was almost a bow.

'As will I.'

Jareth started slightly. 'Ambrosius-'

The old man waved his objections away. 'There is no point in arguing, Jareth. Should the old portal become active again, one of us must be there to stop it. And your place is here, at the castle.'

The younger man sighed. 'You are right. I know it.' He looked intently into his old friend's face. 'Ambrosius, if we lose you-'

'You can have my gold watch,' Ambrosius informed him. He gripped Jareth's shoulder and then turned to Delaine. Her eyes were bright and hard; he took hold of her chin gently and looked into her face until she smiled slightly. 'Lead on, Sir Didymus.'

The fox bowed low to them all, making a special point of acknowledging Sarah and Toby.

'You know what you have to do?'

Delaine nodded at her brother. 'Yes. No need to worry about me.'

'I wasn't.' He almost managed to smile. Almost.

'What can I do?' Toby demanded, wriggling impatiently on the spot.

Jareth considered this and then finally said, 'I need you to look after your sister.'

Toby grimaced. 'That's like one of those things grown-ups say to kids 'cos they think we don't realise it's not important.' He glared at Jareth. 'You've never done that to me before.'

'Do you think that guarding Sarah is not important?'

A heavy sigh. 'Guess not.'

'And you are aware of how much trouble she is capable of getting herself into, are you not?'

From under lowered lashes Toby glanced at Sarah, who adopted an appropriately indignant expression. 'Yeah.'

'Very well.' Jareth straightened up and looked down at the child. 'Keeping her out of mischief will not be an easy task, Toby. You must keep her here in the throne room and you must remain at her side. Yes?'

'Okay. I can do that,' he replied resolutely, his shoulders squared.

Sarah felt a piece of her heart breaking.

Jareth glanced over at her and then addressed the rest of the group. 'Will you give us a moment?'

Delaine steered Toby out, Ludo's great shaggy form looming behind them like a moving mountain. Once they had left and the doors swung closed behind them, the silence rang in Sarah's ears. Jareth had returned to contemplating the living miniature and, after a letting out a long breath, dismissed it. His clothes were almost entirely black, his torso covered by some sort of armour that reflected the light in its highly polished surface; his gloves had been replaced by heavy leather gauntlets. The ensemble made him look much older, harder - very different from the rather romantic figure he normally cut. Jareth wore his battle dress with ease, but it was an adopted persona that did not entirely suit him; he preferred subtlety and the simple elegance of magic over direct confrontation.

Sarah could see the lines of stress etched in his face; the fire in his eyes had been replaced by ice. For all the ten years they had been apart, she had never felt him so far away from her as now. 'Don't do this,' she blurted out, unable to stop herself. 'Don't fight him, why should you? I mean, it's not as though you're a Goblin.' She hated herself for the words as soon as she had uttered them.

'No,' he said softly. 'But they are still my people, and my lands. If I don't fight for them, who will? Besides,' that mocking, remote expression fell back into place, 'better the tyrant they know, eh?'

'Don't do that,' she said quietly. 'I'm not that sixteen-year-old you have to play a part for anymore, Jareth.'

He held her gaze for a long time, apparently struggling with some inner turmoil; he finally blew out a breath. 'I should not have allowed you and Toby to stay; it was a mistake.'

She tossed the hair back from her face. 'We know what we're doing.'

'Do you?' He shook his head. 'In many ways you're still a child, Sarah.'

'You know, that's pretty much what Delaine said about you.'

'My sister is not the greatest judge of character I have ever met,' he snapped. He pulled himself up, wondering if he and Sarah would ever get over their frustrating ability to quarrel whenever they were left alone for more than five minutes. He tried, unsuccessfully, to ignore the fact that this may be the last time he would see her. 'I need you to promise me something, Sarah.'

She watched him warily. 'What?'

'I do not know the outcome of this battle, Sarah. I will do whatever I have to do to secure the future of the Underground – however great that sacrifice might be.'

'You mean you might be killed.'

'Yes.'

She did not flinch, but he saw a muscle in her cheek twitch.

'You and Toby will be safe in here, but you will be able to see all that happens. If I fall, you must take Toby and leave.' He pointed to the far wall, in which a heavy oak door had appeared. 'That leads back to the Aboveground. Only you and Toby will be able to pass through it; once you have gone, no-one will be able to follow and you will not be able to return.'

'So you want me to promise to stand back and watch you die and then run away? Is that what you think of me?'

'It's nothing to do with what I think of you, woman! I am trying to protect you.' He grabbed hold of her arms, harder than he had intended. Hard enough to leave bruises. She didn't care. 'I swore I would keep both of you safe, Sarah, and this is the only way!' He shook her. 'You have to look after Toby.'

'You think I don't know that?'

'I have to know that you will be safe! You have to do this, Sarah! Promise me.' He almost lifted her off her feet. 'Promise me!'

Her breath came in jagged grasps. 'I promise.'

He swallowed and gently released her. She could feel his hands shaking. 'As long as you are alive and safe, Sarah, a little piece of the Underground will always remain intact. No matter what happens, it will endure. Your strength will keep it alive.'

She shook her head. 'But I'm not strong.'

'Oh? Are you not the girl who conquered my Labyrinth?'

'I was supposed to win. I only did because you helped me.'

'Perhaps. For every little nudge you were given, a far greater obstacle was put in your path – and you overcame them.'

She stared past his head, keeping her burning eyes wide in the effort to stop her tears. When she finally forced herself to look at him, she saw the expression he had worn when they had danced together. It seemed like a lifetime ago now.

'Here.' He removed his amulet and placed it around her neck; it was heavier than she had expected and as it lay against her breast she could feel its warmth from where it had lain against his. His fingers rested against its smooth surface and, impulsively, she rested one hand over his for a moment. 'It has no extraordinary magic value,' he told her. 'But it does afford the wearer a certain amount of protection.'

'It's just a loan, you know,' she replied, her voice tight. 'I'll be giving it back to you.'

A hint of a smile curved the corners of his mouth. 'Of course.' He raised his head, as though listening. The rumble of machinery had subsided; a new sound had taken its place. It was so low at first that Sarah felt it more than heard it and then it grew stronger – the regular rhythm of war drums. Each beat seemed to match that of her heart until she felt as though it would burst out of her chest. Somehow her hands were resting against his shirtfront, gripping the fabric.

'It's time, isn't it?'

'Yes. You and Toby-'

'Will be safe here. I know.'

'And your promise...'

She raised her chin, meeting his gaze determinedly. 'I promised. I'll keep my word.'

His eyes wandered over her face and for a moment he hesitated, then murmured, almost to himself, 'I would not have risked it before...'

There was nothing tender or gentle in that kiss. It was hard, demanding and Sarah responded in kind. She wrapped her arms around him and for that short time was aware only of how good the hard planes of his body felt pressed against hers.

It was over far too soon. He turned and walked away from her. He did not look back.


	17. Shallow Man

Sarah and Toby were left in the charge of Ludo and a large, grim-faced, club-wielding Goblin by the name of Septìmüs. From their vantage point in the throne room they could see across a vast expanse of the Labyrinth - and the battlements where Jareth stood. The wind had picked up, whipping his hair across his face; his polished breastplate reflected the dull crimson light of the engorged sun. It hung low in a sky streaked with dusty yellow, casting a sickly light over everything. Every now and then, Jareth would send one of his crystals across the Labyrinth and Sarah watched their progress until they passed from sight and her eyes ached with the strain of trying to follow them. She shuddered and moved from the window.

'Sawah scared?'

She dragged her hand away from the amulet at her neck. 'I'm terrified, Ludo.' Terrified for Toby, for her friends and most of all for Jareth. 'I'm glad you're not fighting, though.'

Ludo shook his head slowly. 'Jaweth not allow.' The great beast thumped himself on the chest. 'Ludo last of kind in Undergwound.'

Sarah put her hand on his arm, running her fingers through the thick russet fur. 'Oh, Ludo, I'm sorry - I had no idea.'

'Maybe others other place.' The huge shoulders raised in what looked like a shrug. 'Maybe Ludo go look someday.'

'Maybe. And we'll all help you look, okay?'

He fixed his soulful eyes on her. 'Even Jaweth?'

Sarah clamped her teeth together, finally forcing herself to speak and keep her voice level. 'Especially Jareth.' She looked back at the solitary figure on the battlements. He had released another crystal into the air and Sarah followed its direction; she recognised the path it was taking -she knew where it was going.

* * *

Hoggle stared at the Bog of Eternal Stench without really seeing it. It was the place he tried to avoid above all others in the Labyrinth. In his mind's eye he saw what had been before his stupidity and greed had destroyed it all. He saw the garden in all its beauty, but more than anything he saw an exquisite young woman: slim bare feet running across dew-sprinkled grass, her dark hair shining like silver, her limbs long and smooth and white as those of the beech tree whose keeper she had been. Alinúr, leader of the Dryads of the Underground, Goblin Queen. Hoggle squeezed his eyes shut. Prince of the Land of Stench, he thought bitterly.

Sir Didymus was also lost in memory - the last time this place had been a site of battle. He had been very young himself, barely more than a cub and sworn into the service of the young Prince. He was supposed to have been guarding the child but had been unable to prevent Jareth from going down to the battlefield where his parents were mounting one last, desperate stand. They had seen the destruction of the garden; the rising from the depths of the earth of the foul liquid that had submerged everything. Sir Didymus had come perilously close to falling in headfirst, until Jareth had grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and hauled him back up again. His sense of smell had never been the same since, although he would sooner have impaled himself on his own sword than admit that to anybody.

And Jareth had seen what no one - let alone a child - should see: his mother's terrible death. Trapped in the middle of the garden and with yet more of their enemies entering through the portal, there had been no time for Alinúr to escape.

The young Jareth had been too distraught to hear the promise that Sir Didymus had made him then - that never again would any intruder be allowed through that place. He had kept to his word and his duty ever since.

An unusually large eruption from the surface caused them to tense; they watched it suspiciously, Sir Didymus' fur bristling but when nothing followed they relaxed their guard. Slightly.

'I 'ate waiting,' Hoggle commented.

'You'll hate what's coming even more.' Ambrosius barely looked at the dwarf - he was watching the crystal that drew ever nearer, reaching to take it when it was within reach. 'The boundaries have been breached,' he stated flatly, staring into the crystal's depths. 'It's started.'

* * *

'There,' Rajad said quietly, his keener eyes detecting the movement before hers.

Delaine followed his gaze, squinting, and then felt her stomach contract. There were no discernible individuals in the dark mass that moved toward them - it was simply like watching an amorphous black cloud. She adjusted her helmet. Elven armour was sought after and highly prized: strong, flexible and lightweight, it allowed its wearer ease of movement and almost impregnable protection. Delaine's suit was one of the few things she had retained from her marriage.

Behind them, in serried ranks, were combined Goblin and Elf units - two races very different in custom and temperament, but in a battle situation the alliance of Elven archers and Goblin foot-soldiers was a formidable one.

'Tell the troops to hold the line until they're within range.'

'It is already done, Princess.'

It was, she reflected edgily, an unnecessary order. Börgis Khån carried with him the funk of many battles and the unspeakable trophies of past triumphs hung from his person. Captain of the Household Guard, he was not the largest of the Goblins but he was a skilled fighter and tactician. And, allegedly, an accomplished storyteller; as Delaine had never managed to get more than a handful of words out of him at any one time, she could not begin to imagine the sort of stories he would tell. The sort that would appeal to a Goblin soldier and, therefore, not the sort she would wish to hear, no doubt.

Rajad called out an order to his squadron: they reacted immediately, fitting their arrows to the bows and taking careful aim, waiting. There was always the chance that nerves would get the better of a first time warrior and they would fire before it was time; that was always something that had a detrimental effect on morale. He had selected only veterans for this battle. He glanced at Delaine out of the corner of his eyes. Her tall frame was erect, her beautiful face pale and set. She looked too fragile for the task ahead; a battle, though deeply traumatic, was one thing: the power that Delaine would have to summon during the conflict was beyond his imagining. He feared for her.

* * *

If Khazad had one, true face, Jareth did not know what it was. All he knew of him was darkness, and that was all he saw. The invading forces would attack along all fronts in the Underground, but Khazad himself would head directly for the castle and Jareth.

Out of all of them, Sarah had been the most distraught to learn how Khazad had gained entry to the Underground. Part of Ambrosius' plan all those years ago had been to turn her into a more responsible person - that seemed to have worked a little too well.

The weak light of the sun seemed dulled over the castle and Jareth could feel Khazad drawing closer - it was as though a skewer of cold steel had been inserted into his brain and was slowly being twisted. No matter what happened, he would remain where he was - he would not go on the offensive. The key to a good offence is a good defence. Or was it the other way around? He couldn't remember anymore. It didn't really matter. He would remain in his place, at his duty, if it killed him. Jareth managed a sardonic smile: it probably would kill him. He braced himself and allowed more of the magic of the Labyrinth to surge through him.

ooOoo

As the enemy troop came within clear view the Goblin war drums started up. Börgis let out a great, ululating cry that was taken up by his lieutenants.

'Well,' Delaine commented drily, 'I don't know about anybody else, but that war cry is enough to make me turn tail and run - and I'm on the same side.'

Rajad shifted slightly.

'Sorry - my inappropriate sense of humour strikes again. I forgot.'

'Actually, I've found myself missing it. Occasionally.'

Delaine digested this information and decided to keep it as a topic for discussion when this was over. Provided that both of them were still around.

Rajad was focused on the marching troops. 'They are within range.' He raised a hand and called out to his archers. Some of them dipped their arrow tips into the trough of flame that had been set at their feet. The first fusillade of arrows soared through the air and slammed into the first rows of the enemy.

Even from this distance, they could hear the thud of the heavy arrows hitting flesh.

The next shower of arrows took out the second-wave ranks of the opposition. Their position on the crest of the hill afforded them extra protection, for the moment. Hand-to-hand combat was inevitable. It was only a matter of time.

* * *

The waters of the Bog were starting to churn.

In the dense, brackish depths they could see forms moving.

Hoggle and Sir Didymus moved closer to Ambrosius, but remained resolutely staring at the hated surface. The sorcerer's lips were moving in a silent incantation. Sir Didymus could feel the hackles on the back of his neck standing on end. Hoggle clamped a hand over his mouth, trying to stifle a wave of nausea; the stench had increased in intensity in the last few minutes.

The black crows that had chosen this place as their hunting ground had deserted it hours ago - never a good sign.

There was a horrible, sucking sound from close by. A rotting hand broke through the viscous surface.

* * *

Delaine raised her voice and bellowed at the Goblins behind her. Their battle-chant immediately died away, only the steady drum beats still sounded. She nodded at Börgis. He drew a jagged, black-bladed scimitar and yelled out the order to charge.

The Goblin hordes swarmed down the hillside. From the shelter of the woodland either side of Khazad's advancing armies came battalions of Centaurs. The enemy was momentarily confused by this three-pronged attack, and that confusion was all they needed to inflict as much damage as possible.

Delaine watched the carnage, scarcely able to breath. Their opponents were suffering the heaviest losses, but she could see where some of her troops - her people - had fallen. She should be down there with them.

'Getting yourself killed won't help anyone at the moment.' Rajad's voice sounded unusually harsh; he had placed a restraining hand on her arm.

'That rather implies that it will help someone later on,' she countered half-heartedly.

'Delaine!'

A harsh, piercing sound rent the air. Reinforcements had arrived in the valley below them.

'Flatland Elves!' Rajad spat contemptuously. 'Vermin.' There was a scrape of metal as he drew his sword.

'And here was me thinking you're all brothers under the skin,' Delaine murmured. Her heart was beating erratically - Jareth's strength was being drained. She shook her head vigourously to clear it.

* * *

The pain was indescribable. Jareth managed to hold himself up, but only just. Everything he had, everything he was, was slowly being ripped away and soon there would be nothing. The last of his strength would be expended on protecting the Labyrinth and he still wasn't sure that it would be enough.

'They were right all along, Jareth. The mortals are your downfall.'

His enemy's voice came from the black cloud that was enveloping him. Jareth mustered himself and aimed a crystal at the approaching mass and for a moment the light it contained provided a barrier. But it was a feeble effort, he thought wryly; the fragile glass shattered and the illumination was absorbed into darkness.

'Give in.'

'It isn't over yet, Khazad.' He forced himself to speak clearly, throwing his head back and drawing his proud frame up to its full height. He was still the ruler of this land, still the king.

'You place a great deal of faith in that mortal girl, Jareth. It will a pleasure taking her.'

'You can't have her.'

He could hear Khazad's laughter - it was like nails scraping down a board. 'I very nearly did.'

'Nearly,' Jareth repeated mockingly. 'Nearly isn't really good enough, is it?'

The pain increased and he nearly doubled over.

'You will bow to me.'

'Not in this lifetime.'

His vision was blurred. He could still feel his sister's spirit - her courage was, as it always had been, greater than her fear. As was the way with siblings, he had always spent more time teasing her than he had telling her how much she meant to him. She would know, surely: she seemed to know everything else about him. He could feel all of them: Delaine's strength, Ambrosius' steely determination, Toby's confusion - and the agonising stab that was Sarah. While she held the power of the Labyrinth, a part of him would always be with her. It was the only consoling thought he had.

Jareth forced his eyes open; he was staring directly down at the paving stones beneath his feet. There were dark red splotches. Blood. His own blood. He laughed in surprise. There was no wound he was aware of, but there was a terrible amount of pain. More blood splashed onto the stones and the churning darkness at the edges of his vision was rushing inwards. He couldn't hold it back anymore.

He fell.

* * *

'We have to go.' Sarah managed to take hold of Toby's hand. Her own were numb and she had to look down to make sure that she actually had hold of him. He wrenched himself out of her grasp.

'We can't! Jareth's hurt - we can't just leave him!'

'Toby, we have to. He-he made me promise. This is what he wanted.' She couldn't breath. A family of rats seemed to have taken up residence in her chest and were clawing at each other, choking her until she thought she would go mad. 'If Khazad finds us - if he finds me - he'll force me to give up the power Jareth gave me.'

The little blonde stared at her. 'But Jareth said he couldn't do that. That's why Khazad had to trick you.'

'Ambrosius said-'

'I don't care what Ambrosius said! Jareth told me Khazad couldn't force you to do anything.'

Septìmüs had grabbed hold of her and was, none too respectfully, marshalling her towards the door. The door back to the Aboveground, back home. She dug her heels into the floor, like a child, sending both of them stumbling. Sarah heard the Goblin cursing and, with more desperation than skill, swung around and twisted herself out of his arms. She rounded on Toby. 'What exactly did Jareth say?'

'He...' The first night he had been in the Underground; Jareth had been explaining it all to him... 'He said that you had to choose to give Khazad the power and ... and... you had to be happy about doing it. With joy in your heart! That's what he said, Sarah!' His eyes shone with triumph. 'That's exactly what he said.'

Septìmüs made another lunge for her and Sarah danced out of his way. She called appealingly to Ludo; her old friend had been standing aside watching the little drama unfold. He hesitated momentarily and then swept both Septìmüs and Toby up in his arms, pinning them to his chest.

'Hey!' Toby yelled indignantly. 'Sarah, tell him to let me go!'

Sarah ignored her brother's insistent demands. Her mind was racing. Who was right - Ambrosius or Jareth? The sorcerer or the King? She had to trust one of them, but the wrong decision could mean the end of the Labyrinth. Sarah grasped the edge of the window-sill, her eyes barely able to make out the fallen, crumpled form on the battlements. He was surrounded by dancing shadows.

Again she saw the image of the injured owl.

A little piece of the Labyrinth would live with her. What good was that if its ruler was gone?

' _It isn't that I don't appreciate what you're trying to do for me...'_

Of course she hadn't appreciated it. She hadn't understood any of it, so how could she appreciate it? Or him? All he had done was love her and she had hurt him terribly. He had given her so much over the years and she had not realised it.

Something within her fell into place.

Perhaps it was time to give something back.

The winding corridors down to the battlements would take too long. She scrambled calmly onto the window-sill. Toby's cries of encouragement turned to ones of horror.

A leap of faith.

Sarah threw herself forward; she fell sickeningly for a moment and then felt wings - hers - clawing at the air. Her flight was erratic at best, but it took only seconds to reach him. She landed heavily, tripping over her feet and stumbled to the ground next to him. Sarah turned him over: his eyes stared sightlessly, a trickle of blood ran from one corner of his mouth. Sarah used the hem of her dress to wipe his cold face, the grey silk immediately stained with crimson. She tried to locate a pulse but her shaking fingers could find nothing.

'Jareth... Jareth, please. You have to come back. Please, come back to me.'

She heard a low, jeering laugh and a shadow fell across her. Sarah looked up at the figure standing over them. The mismatched eyes were cold, the handsome face distorted. He didn't smile so much as bare his teeth at her.

'Hello again, Sarah.'


	18. She's uncertain if she likes him, but she knows she really loves him

Sarah rose to her feet, carefully stepping over Jareth's body so that she placed herself between him and Khazad.

'Touching,' he commented.

'What have you done to him?'

'Nothing more than he would have to me. We aren't so different, Jareth and I.'

Sarah looked him over scornfully. 'You are nothing like Jareth.'

He still spoke in Jareth's voice, but it was harsher than the Goblin King's own velvety tones. 'Come now, Sarah! I made a more convincing Goblin King than he does.'

'You could only pull it off by drugging me.' Her palms were sweating; she rubbed them on her skirt. 'You're a coward. You could at least have the guts to show me your own face instead of hiding behind Jareth's.'

He laughed again. 'Very well.'

* * *

'Fall back!'

Their troops had made inroads into the opposition, but they were still greatly outnumbered. The order to retreat was not one that Börgis Khån could accept easily, but he dutifully led his men back up the hill. They raced past Delaine and Rajad, both of whom stood their ground.

'You should go with them,' Delaine said, her gaze fixed at the enemy troops who were advancing.

Rajad ignored this comment. 'Aren't they close enough?'

'A little more - the closer to the Labyrinth itself, the better.'

The Elves and Goblins had retreated fully, closely followed by the Centaurs who were still firing arrows over their shoulders as they bolted past. They penetrated deep into the Labyrinth, where they would regroup and prepare for the next phase of the battle.

'Go.'

'I'm staying here.'

'You never did listen to a damn word I said,' Delaine muttered. She rooted herself firmly and slowed her breathing. She could always feel the energy of the Labyrinth but it was only when she accessed it directly that she was reminded of the terrifying intensity of its power. As its King, Jareth's control over it was far greater than hers but Delaine was able to direct it for short periods.

Her body jolted, her eyes snapping open; it was as though an electric current had been passed through her. For a moment it burned within her, but then she bent it to her will and sent the energy back out into the ground.

The earth began to shake.

The tremors were relatively gentle at first but then grew in intensity. Rocks and trees were dancing wildly in the grip of the quake - and in the middle of this, massed ranks of the aggressors were caught. Most of them were knocked off their feet, those closest to the Labyrinth getting the worst of it. Great fissures opened in the earth, the ground simply giving way beneath the soldiers' feet. They scrabbled at their comrades for help, dragging each other into the bottomless chasms.

Delaine staggered back; she would have fallen if Rajad had not been at her side. He held her firmly around her waist; her eyes were momentarily unfocused and glassy.

'Thanks,' she said weakly.

'My pleasure.'

Her strength a little regained, she pushed herself away from him and surveyed the scene of destruction with satisfaction. 'That went rather well, I thought. Come on.'

As they ran lightly the rest of the way up the hill Rajad asked cautiously, 'How is Jareth?'

'He's absorbed a lot of Khazad's energy,' Delaine replied a little breathlessly. 'The Labyrinth is working to replenish him, but it may take a little time.'

'When you say a little time...'

'We'd better keep moving as long as we can.'

* * *

For every form that broke the surface of the Bog and tried to make its way to land, another pulled it back in. Fighters on both sides had been trapped beneath its surface and at the moment it appeared that they were still locked in their ceaseless battle. As one hand and a long withered arm grasped the edge of the bank and started heaving a body out of the waters, Hoggle attacked it with a heavy club. The claw-like fingers clutched at a clump of grass, eventually releasing their hold and sinking back into the mire.

'Well done!' Sir Didymus shouted encouragingly. Hoggle grunted in reply. A cadaverous face reared out of the swamp, its eyes so sunken they were barely visible beneath the mask of foul mud that coated the head. The mouth was gaping open and Sir Didymus aimed his sword into it, driving it in almost to the hilt. One vicious twist and then he pulled it out again with an effort. He examined the blade, wrinkling his nose in disgust at the sticky black streaks; he wiped it clean on the patchy grass.

'You two might want to stand back.' Ambrosius' normally resonant tones were pitched even lower than usual, as though his voice were coming from the very depths of the earth. He had angled his staff, the prism set into the intricately carved head catching the feeble rays of the sun and radiating a powerful glow in turn.

Hoggle and Sir Didymus scrambled out of the way.

The sorcerer's face could have been carved from granite, so immobile was his countenance. The only life was in the depths of his coal-black eyes. He aimed the staff. A jet of red-gold shot from the glowing prism deep into the heart of the quagmire. Nothing happened, beyond the unending churning of the waters. And then a column of flame erupted from the depths. It soared upwards, burning fiercely and bathing everything in its crimson light.

Ambrosius lowered his staff and leaned against it. 'That should hold for a while.'

* * *

The form that Khazad adopted was not solid. It seemed to be a collection of dense shadows that was vaguely human in outline; in the area that Sarah guessed would be his face she could see a pair of burning yellow eyes. If he had chosen this appearance to frighten her it was less successful that he would have hoped: after having had the dubious privilege of seeing some of the contents of Khazad's head, Sarah had been expecting an unnerving sight. She stood her ground, throwing her shoulders back and raising her chin. She could feel the weight of Jareth's amulet around her neck and drew what comfort she could from it. He still lay motionless behind her.

'Not pretty, am I?' Khazad's voice rasped against her ears and she shuddered. 'I used to be. I used to belong to this land, until Jareth's forebears expelled me. I am simply reclaiming what's mine. That isn't so unreasonable, is it?'

'I wouldn't know about that. All I do know is that what you want to do here is wrong.' Something scuttled out of the shadows; she was vaguely aware of pincers and lots of legs and inadvertently took a step backwards.

She had already come to hate that laugh of his.

'You could end all of this very easily, Sarah.'

'And how am I supposed to do that?'

'Just give me what I want. The power you carry within you.'

In the distance a column of flame flared upwards, illuminating the sky; she heard Khazad suck his breath in, his yellow eyes narrowing.

'No.' She remained motionless as he came closer to her, determined not to take another step. If she did she would trip over Jareth and she did not want to risk injuring him further; not to mention the fact that sprawled on the floor is not the most dignified position from which to face a mortal enemy. 'I will never give you what you want.'

'How about we make a deal? A trade.'

Sarah couldn't see the castle anymore - everything around her was growing dim. 'There is nothing you have that I could possibly want.'

'Really?' His voice had changed again, now to something low and seductive. 'Not even your parents back?'

Sarah froze. 'What?'

Something brushed against her face.

'Your parents. Wouldn't you like them restored to you? You and Toby, of course. That poor little orphaned boy...'

'But-' Sarah licked her lips. 'But you can't bring back the dead.'

'He can't. Jareth!' he spat the name scornfully. 'Your precious Goblin King! He's weak. But I'm strong, Sarah. Strong enough to give you everything...'

After the darkness the sunshine was so bright she was momentarily blinded, automatically shielding her eyes with one arm. When Sarah looked around her she was standing in the garden of her house. The back door was open and she could hear the radio playing inside, a woman's voice singing along. Her stepmother's voice.

'Karen...'

* * *

Delaine raced through the tortuous passages of the Labyrinth, Rajad matching her every step of the way. She wondered, as they ran, whether Jareth had asked him to stay with her, or if he was a self-appointed bodyguard.

They were leading the enemy deep into the Labyrinth, through an assortment of Goblin ambushes and a few other surprises that Delaine manipulated. The passage they were running along obligingly widened itself to accommodate the small squadron pursuing them - and then closed in on their would-be attackers, squashing all of them between mercilessly grinding stone.

'Did Jareth ask you to stay with me,' she gasped, 'or are you a self-appointed bodyguard?'

'What ... do you ... think?'

'If I knew-' she slashed at a small, pygmy-like creature that appeared to have been mummified at some point in its life, '-that, I wouldn't have to ask.'

Her victim had been the most fast-moving of its companions - the rest of them were now chasing Delaine and Rajad. She grabbed hold of his hand and dragged him around a corner; they ran through an enclosure of gnarled, sinister-looking trees. Delaine slowed, waiting just long enough to see their pursuers following them. The little creatures let out bloodcurdling cries when they saw them. The air was suddenly filled with a deep creaking and groaning. The twisted branches reached out...

The triumphant cries turned to screams; there was the sound of the violent thrashing of leaves, like a forest in the middle of a storm. Then silence.

The ground was stained with blood.

Delaine fought against the bile that had suddenly risen in her throat. From somewhere nearby she heard the drums of the Goblin army and Börgis Khån's unearthly yells. 'Well,' she said quietly, 'it sounds like someone's enjoying themselves.'

They left the glade, turning into one of the Labyrinth's many winding passages. A wall of stone exploded next to them; they threw themselves clear only just in time. Delaine felt the heat of flame pass close to her face.

Fire Trolls.

The one that had them pinned down was a great, hulking brute: its eyes burned as red as the three lashes of fire that formed its whip. The whip was raised, aimed directly at them.

Delaine could barely think coherently, but managed to conjure a crystal and throw it at the Troll. The whip froze, its vicious flames replaced by icicles. The Troll howled in fury, shattering the whip against the wall. The shards rained down on them and Delaine felt one slice across her cheek like glass.

'Which way?' Rajad hissed urgently.

'This way.' They half-crawled, half-stumbled through the set of enormous doors that had appeared in the wall a few feet away from them. The doors led into an underground passage big enough for the Troll to follow them. Big enough for all three Trolls to follow them.

'Whatever you do,' Rajad snapped, 'I hope you do it bloody quickly.'

'I want to make sure all three are down here.'

'They are!'

'There's no need to yell.'

The Trolls were massive creatures, but their quarry had the advantage of speed. There was a fair amount of distance between them before Delaine stopped and shouted something down the passageway. Her clear voice reverberated for a moment, audible even over the heavy treads of the Trolls.

The ceiling of the passageway caved in.

The sound of falling rock was deafening and a great cloud of dust and gravel overtook them, but the roof over them held fast.

But through the dust came one tongue of flame - it curled around a protruding piece of rock, dislodging it. The whip's owner was buried under the cave-in, but the damage was done.

Rajad called out an incoherent warning and threw both arms around Delaine, pinning her against the wall and shielding her from the rock fall. She could feel his body jolting and knew that he had been hit at least once. He had pressed her face into the protective curve of his shoulder and she could barely breath for the heavy cloth smothering her nose and mouth and the vice-like hold of his arms.

'There's no need to hold me up,' he grunted when it finally subsided. She looked at him in amazement. He was pale: his normally bronzed skin was a sickly yellow colour and his left arm was hanging at an unnatural angle.

'Your shoulder...'

'I'm fine.' He propped himself against what was left of the wall - it seemed to be the only thing that was keeping him standing. He swatted her hands away. 'Don't fuss, Delaine.'

'It's dislocated. You can't do anything more in this state.'

Some of the colour had come back into his face; his green eyes snapped. 'Just get us out of here.' He saw the look on her face. 'And don't you dare...'

'...Materialise me somewhere,' he concluded, giving her a venomous glare.

Delaine pulled off her helmet. Her hair fell in damp, limp locks over her shoulders. 'Are you going to complain all day?'

'I thought I might.'

They looked around. Most of the Bog of Eternal Stench was on fire. Ambrosius' column had attracted the Fire Gang and they were gamely blasting everything that moved.

'They're finally good for something,' Rajad stated; his legs gave way and he sat down suddenly. Delaine knelt next to him, conjuring a flask and holding it to his lips. He drank a little and then choked; he pulled back, gasping, his eyes wide. 'What is that?'

'Brandy. It's a mortal drink. Is it too awful?'

'No, it's bloody marvellous. Hand that flask over.'

Sir Didymus joined them breathlessly, his whiskers a little scorched. 'Is all well, Your Highness? My Lord?'

'Couldn't be better.'

'Be quiet. Rajad is hurt, Didymus. Where is Ambrosius?'

'Well...'

She followed the little knight's gaze and swore violently.

Ambrosius, his staff held aloft, the prism casting a path of blinding light before him, had started to walk across the surface of the swamp. The flames parted and then closed behind him.

'What is he doing?' Her instinct told her to run to him, to drag him back; her legs refused to co-operate.

'More power is needed to keep the portal from activating again, Your Highness.' Sir Didymus fixed his one good eye on her blood-smeared face. 'The flames cannot touch him.'

'No,' she said quietly. They could barely see the grey-robed form through the dense smoke.

They all started as the Fire Gang erupted with whooping cackles - they had started an impromptu game of football with a disembodied head. The reeking, blackened object was, for once, not one of their own.

Delaine drew her knees up to her chest and lowered her head onto them trying, just for a few seconds, to block out this new, nightmare world.


	19. Time

Sarah hovered in the doorway. The kitchen was bright and warm and Karen moved about busily, seemingly unaware of her stepdaughter's presence. Sarah pressed her hands against her eyes and breathed deeply. She caught the indescribable mix of scents that always permeated the house.

'Oh, there you are. Sarah, are you okay?'

Sarah raised her head and found Karen's concerned eyes fixed on her.

'Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks.'

'Everything you want, Sarah. And I ask for so little in return.' His voice was inside her head; she braced herself and stepped fully into the kitchen. Karen was chatting away happily, the way she always did when she was preparing dinner.

'Can I give you a hand?'

'Thanks. Fetch the big salad bowl down, will you?'

A dark something moved on the corner of Sarah's vision - she turned her head sharply, but there was nothing there. She grasped the dish - a brightly coloured bowl that Karen had insisted on bringing all the way back from Mexico one year - and placed it carefully on the counter.

'Karen.' Sarah took a deep breath, her insides twisting. 'There's something I need to tell you-'

'Oh.' Karen held up a hand, her head tilted to one side. 'I think that's your father home.'

'Don't you want your family back?'

She heard the familiar sound of the key turning in the lock and then the thud as he dropped his briefcase on the floor.

'Every day he does that and every day I ask him not to,' Karen muttered. 'Does he listen to me? No.'

'Hi, honey!' Robert Williams' cheerful voice echoed through the hall.

'We're in the kitchen,' Karen called back.

Sarah leaned against the counter, clutching the edge so hard her knuckles turned white.

'My two favourite girls together,' he announced, walking into the kitchen. He deposited a kiss on his wife's cheek and grinned at his daughter.

Sarah managed to smile back, not trusting herself to speak. Her father looked at her intently, something softening in his gaze. He placed a hand on her shoulder. 'Everything okay, Cinders?'

His nickname for her as a child. She had spent so many hours lost in books, dreaming of being a fairy tale princess... Sarah wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. He stroked her hair. 'I wish I could get this welcome every day.'

Sarah bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut. They had been so happy together. They had all been so happy...

Robert kissed her on her cheek, but instead of releasing her, he whispered in her ear, 'You have to do the right thing.'

Her eyes flew open.

'No matter how hard it is, you have to do it.'

She clung to him, breathing in the familiar mixture of starched shirt and aftershave. 'I know that, Daddy.' Over his shoulder she could see Karen watching them, nodding slightly. She looked so serene. Sarah gave her a watery smile. 'Good-bye.'

She pushed herself away from her father. 'The answer is no, Khazad! I won't do it.'

Everything shattered and she was falling through darkness.

* * *

'If you don't stay there and keep still, Hoggle will hit you with his club.'

'He wouldn't dare,' Rajad replied haughtily. Nevertheless, he eyed the Dwarf warily.

'Wouldn't I?' Hoggle weighed the club in his hands.

Rajad cast both him and his former wife baleful looks and settled back against his tree-stump. His cloak had been sacrificed to form a makeshift dressing and sling for his arm. Putting the shoulder joint back into its socket had been an unpleasant experience for all concerned and he was certain that Delaine's foot had left a permanent impression on his chest. Delaine herself was watching her crystals intently, studying the scenes inside. 'How are things going? Or am I not allowed to ask questions either?'

'Only if you can't manage intelligent ones,' she muttered; looking up, her expression softened. 'It's going well. Our combined forces have almost routed the invaders. I'm going to rendezvous with Börgis, see exactly how things stand.' She held up a hand against his objections. 'I'm not going to hide away while my people are being killed, Rajad. What are you doing?'

He had struggled to his feet. 'I'm coming with you.'

'You're in no state to-'

'I banged up my arm, I am not-'

'Stubborn is too good a-'

'I'm stubborn!'

'You-'

'You-'

'Oh, jus' get goin'! The both of you!' Hoggle snapped.

Delaine breathed heavily down her nose. 'Fine.'

They reappeared on the edge of a battlefield. Entire walls of the Labyrinth had been blasted to rubble; the ground was littered with uprooted trees and corpses. The rich, metallic scent of death assaulted them, but with it came the knowledge that the battle was in its final stages and that theirs was the winning side.

Börgis Khån, his eyes red with bloodlust, saw them and raised his scimitar in triumph. Most of the opposition were dead: those who were not had either surrendered or, if they were determined on martyrdom, were still fighting on. It was a losing fight and even as Delaine and Rajad stood there, the last of the enemy forces was cut down.

Everything became very still.

Across the space one figure ran toward them, her feet swift and light, her burnished green cloak streaming behind her. She stopped in front of them, barely out of breath despite her run, and saluted. 'The Flatlanders have surrendered, Captain.' She addressed Rajad; before there was time for a response, Delaine let out a gasp, her eyes widening.

'What is it? What's wrong?'

'I-I don't know. Something shifted in the Labyrinth, its energy...' Her voice strengthened. 'I'm all right, honestly. We can take the good news to Ambrosius.'

'He will be pleased to get out of that swamp.' He smiled. It was not something that Rajad did often, but when he did the effect was devastating. He held her to him with his one good arm and Delaine carefully avoided his abused shoulder. The fight was far from over, but for a moment they could enjoy this initial victory. They would tell Ambrosius and the others and then they would marshall all their forces toward the castle.

They parted and Rajad had a few words with his lieutenant. Delaine's eyes moved past them to the horizon.

'Rajad.'

The laughter died from his face as swiftly as it had come; he turned sharply in response to the quiet urgency in her voice. Her smile had faded. He followed her gaze to the horizon.

'What is that?''

'I don't know,' he replied.

It was approaching rapidly, a seething mass that lay across the horizon and swirled up into the air like a densely packed swarm. Delaine could have sworn that the darkness was devouring the land itself, if such a thing were possible. It couldn't be possible.

'Börgis! Reform the lines!' Her voice carried across the field. Rajad and Delaine ran to join the jostling armies, drawing their swords as they moved. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest, performing the erratic rhythm of fear; she jammed her helmet back on and gripped the hilt of her sword in both hands. In the failing light the blade glowed a faint purple.

'What does that mean?' Rajad asked over the sound of clashing steel as their troops reorganised themselves.

'I'm not sure. But it can't be good.'

* * *

The world was falling down around her. She was standing on the only firm piece of land, surrounded by crumbling ruins and the vast expanse of space. Jareth lay at her feet, still unmoving. Sarah crouched next to him and placed one hand on his face. He seemed to be breathing, at least; she smoothed the hair back from his brow - it was unexpectedly soft; silken strands twined themselves around her fingers. She felt the shadows gathering behind her before she saw them. Turning, she stood to face her enemy once more.

He had changed his form yet again: she was confronted by a figure clad in dull black armour; the yellow eyes still burned brightly in the void where his face should have been.

'You stupid little girl.'

Sarah stared back at him unflinching.

'Have you any idea what you have refused?'

'Someone else made me a much better offer once - I still turned him down.'

All around them, floating in the air, were innumerable clocks, all showing different times. Their incessant, overlapping ticking was like the buzzing of so many insects.

She heard a rattling sound as Khazad sucked in a breath. 'Jareth offered to show you your dreams - but I can make you live your nightmares.'

Sarah managed to laugh at that, albeit a bitter barking laugh. 'Considering what's happened to me this week, I doubt that you could do much worse. I lost two of the people I love the most. I've already lived the nightmare.'

His eyes narrowed. 'Maybe. But there are still two people whose deaths you would mourn. Give me what I desire and I will spare your brother. I might even spare that pitiful excuse that calls himself the Goblin King.'

For a moment her face felt so icy she could barely speak, but all the time there was that insistent voice in her head that reminded her that everything Khazad said was a lie. And Jareth believed in her - and in her strength. 'You can't touch Toby.' A new realisation came to her. 'And if you could just kill Jareth you would have done it by now.'

'Maybe.' His voice was as hard as steel. 'But remember, girl, that you are mortal. You do not possess the magic of the Fae; and the power that lies within you is not yours to control. There will come a time when you will beg me to take the power of the Labyrinth from you.'

'You think so?' The ticking was driving her crazy. It seemed to have penetrated her mind until she couldn't think straight. She could hear her own voice but had little control over what she was saying, almost as though she were a spectator watching herself in a play. But there was no script this time, of that she was certain. This time the enemy was real, there was no game and the outcome was far from assured. 'I wouldn't be so sure about anything, if I were you. One thing I learnt about this place a long time ago: just when you are absolutely sure about something, it turns out you were wrong.'

With what little patience he had possessed now expended, Khazad let out a wordless cry and raised his fist. Sarah ducked, instinctively shielding herself from a blow that never came. There was a loud sizzling crack. When Sarah raised her head, Khazad was clutching his hand; his eyes moved from it to her and back again. She shared his evident bewilderment. He moved again to strike her - his fist collided against an invisible barrier and rebounded in a shower of sparks. Sarah's hands flew to the amulet at her neck.

'Jareth was right,' she said slowly. 'You can't force me to give up the power. You can't just take it from me. You're not strong, you're a bully. You're the one who's weak.'

'Be careful, child. Just because I cannot strike you does not mean I cannot hurt you.'

She was aware of the pain creeping up the base of her skull and flaring across her head, but only vaguely. It was muffled and she noted it dispassionately, as though it were happening to someone else. She could not organise her thoughts, but two phrases kept chasing each other through her head, _'...it will show you your dreams ...', 'You always said that dreams are stronger than nightmares...'_

The Underground would have to endure. The beauty of the Labyrinth could not be lost. To keep it safe... That would be worth any sacrifice.

'You're right,' her words were starting to slur, 'this power isn't mine to control. But it is mine to give. And if I could give it to anyone, I would give it to Jareth.'

'No!'

'It's his anyway - to do with as he wishes.'

And Jareth would keep the Labyrinth safe. The thought filled her with an overwhelming, unreasoning happiness.

Then, for the first time, Sarah felt the power of the Labyrinth. It was not the gentle buzz of magic that she had felt when flying across the Underground or even in Jareth's enchanted ballroom - this was a tumultuous river of energy coursing though her. She could feel its heat running through her body and exploding in her brain. Her mind was expanding beyond the parameters of human knowledge and existence. She could see to the limits of time and space, could see beyond those limits to the beginning of all things and to the end of time itself. Space was merely a plaything, something fluid and changeable that could be bent and shaped by a stronger will. She was no longer simply Sarah Williams, a mortal girl with no extraordinary powers: she was the receptacle for the knowledge and power that could control universes.

And behind her rose a figure, beautiful and terrible. He burned as brightly as living gold; his hair fell to his shoulders with the fluidity of molten metal and his eyes were fires of emerald and sapphire. Jareth, ruler of the Underground, controller of the Labyrinth, Goblin King, stood in all his true strength and splendour. The timepieces went crazy: the hands of some racing around their faces, others running backwards.

'I told you you could not have her, Khazad.' Jareth waved a commanding hand; all the clocks stopped. 'It's time to end this.'

Khazad drew his sword. The two opponents - one armed, the other not - circled each other. Khazad lunged suddenly, the cruel blade catching the light of the dying stars and glinting dully. Jareth's movement was so fast only the result could be seen - the sword skittered across the ground. Khazad fell back a few steps.

'Oh dear, you dropped your sword.' Jareth prowled forward with the lithe grace of a cat stalking its prey. His smile was a feral grimace of malicious enjoyment.

The fight was not one governed by rules. The adversaries locked together, metal grinding against metal as each sought for the weakness in the other's defences. One of Khazad's hands found Jareth's throat - the chain mail and heavy leather gauntlets covering his hands ended in long, sharpened metal talons.

'You've read too many of your sister's novels.' The stench of Khazad's breath against his face was the smell of decay. 'There is no chivalry in battle, Jareth. And ideals are not always worth fighting for.'

'You should have paid more attention to Delaine's words.' Jareth struck at him; his strength, magnified, sent his assailant sprawling. 'That way you would know it is always the good side that wins.'

'Good?' There was a low, rasping laugh. 'Not everyone sees you as the hero in this, Jareth.'

The Goblin King smiled. 'Perhaps not. But I don't care what anyone else thinks - all that matters is how this ends.'

'Then end it.'

Khazad moved faster this time, kicking Jareth's feet from under him. The two figures closed, grappling with each other. Occasionally one would land a blow that would loosen the other's grasp, but it was never quite enough... Until, with an effort that summoned all his strength, Jareth pinned his enemy down.

He knelt on his chest, stifling Khazad's desperate thrashing and held both of his wrists with one hand, holding them down above his head.

'You already had a kingdom, Khazad. You should have left mine alone.'

'It should have been mine-'

His words were cut off as Jareth grabbed at his throat. 'There is no place for you here. Not anymore.' He released his hold and forced the visor of Khazad's helmet back.

'Jareth... The spell... The spell your father cast in the garden... It can be reversed-'

'Silence.'

'I can tell you how... Jareth, please!'

Jareth lowered his head until his eye's were only millimetres from his foe's. 'I have inhabited these worlds for a long time, Khazad, and I am not so naïve as to believe your trickery; I know that time cannot be undone. But you can.'

He straightened up. A crystal appeared in his hand and as it spun between his fingers, it changed into a long-bladed dagger. Taking only a moment's pleasure in his enemy's despair, Jareth drove it into the void exposed by the raised visor.

Khazad managed to wrestle one hand free of the iron grasp around his wrists; he seized Jareth's hand, trying to force the blade back. It was already too late. His strength failed. The dagger still in place, Jareth stood and watched. Khazad's armour crumpled in on itself, buckling and snapping under the tremendous internal vacuum created as Khazad's energy was turned against himself. The shadows around him were sucked inwards, spinning in the vortex of his self-destruction. Over it all was a piercing, shrieking cry that rose and fell and then was suddenly cut off. All the matter that had been drawn towards that one central point exploded outwards. Jareth threw up his arms, shielding his face. And then the spinning debris rushed inwards again, and vanished.

Jareth lowered his arms, the blazing gold fading from his skin. The sky over the castle was black with clouds, the wind almost knocking him off his feet. And in the middle of the impending storm stood Sarah. He could feel the power radiating off her. Her hair streamed around her like a banner of night; her eyes burned so brightly he was almost blinded by them. The power of the Labyrinth was flowing through her; but without the ability to control it, it would consume her.

'Sarah!' He caught hold of her. 'Sarah, look at me.'

Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, her face bleached white by the intensity of the light emanating from her eyes. 'It burns,' she whispered.

'I know.' He cupped her face in one hand, forcing her to look into his eyes. 'Sarah, look... Look what I have.' It appeared in his hand, a perfect delicate globe.

Her breathing was ragged. 'Wh-what is it?'

His firm lips curled into a smile. 'It's a crystal, nothing more. Look into it, Sarah.' He held it in front of her. It lay in his palm between them and the two glowing silver beams that were her eyes fixed on it. Tendrils of magic began to swirl inside the clear surface, filling it like a cloud. As the light drained from her eyes, the crystal glowed ever brighter until it looked as though he held a star in his hand.

She slumped against him.

With Sarah's limp form still cradled in the protective grasp of his arm, he turned and threw the crystal into the heart of the Labyrinth.

* * *

The scuttling shifting mass was almost on top of them, but they still could not identify what it was. Delaine, summoning up more of the Labyrinth's power, threw up a barrier between it and their troops. The shield granted them only a brief reprieve: it held for a few moments and then the shapeless entity smashed through and surged toward them.

The resulting pain exploded behind her eyes like a star burst and Delaine fell to her knees. Rajad crouched over her, holding his sword defensively over both of them and bracing himself for the impending impact.

A streak of light tore across the darkening sky, tracing an arc and then falling to earth. The ground shook beneath their feet. The approaching darkness broke over them in a wave ... and dissipated like early morning mist burnt off by the sun.

Rajad slowly lowered his sword and both he and Delaine looked upwards. For the first time that day they saw the true, unsullied blue of the sky and felt the rays of the pale, watery sun on their skin.

* * *

The violent churning finally stopped. The pillar of fire extinguished itself, racing downwards with the same speed and force of its ignition until only the dense smoke that hung over the surface of the Bog of Eternal Stench was evidence of its existence.

The Fireys were, at last, silent; they had collapsed together in a mass of red-gold fur and tangled limbs.

Hoggle lowered his club to the ground and leaned against it heavily; he couldn't have raised it again if his life depended on it. In all his long years he had never felt so old. Next to him Sir Didymus drooped. The feathers in his cap had burnt away and his chin almost rested on his chest as though he no longer had the strength to hold his head up. But his keen beady eye was fixed on the heart of the swamp, waiting - and hoping - for something to stir.

'Look.' Hoggle's throat was so parched he sounded as though he had been throttled.

It was only a dim silhouette at first, gathering more substance as it approached the bank. The wreaths of smoke broke around the tall figure. Ambrosius set foot back on solid ground, resting the tip of his staff between his feet and gripping it with both hands. He was trembling slightly, the lines etched into his pale face seemed to have deepened. A slit appeared in his grizzled beard as he saw the exhausted combatants huddled beside the Bog. A broad grin spread across his face.

* * *

In both speech and movement, Ludo was slow. That did not mean he was stupid. He was aware that Sarah had entrusted her brother to him and, should the situation become desperate, he was fully prepared to bundle the child through the portal and send him home. Ludo had condescended to release Septìmüs, but he had kept a tight hold on the wriggling ten-year-old. The Goblin had stood by: silent, mutinous and watchful.

When Ludo finally let Toby go, the boy ran from the room before the beast had a chance to change his mind. He raced through the meandering corridors, taking some of the short cuts Jareth had shown him. Toby had seen Sarah land at Jareth's side, had seen her rise to face the Goblin King's double and then all three figures had been enveloped in an impenetrable darkness. He had no idea how long that darkness had lasted: it had felt like a lifetime. And then those two beacons of silver had cut through the gathered shadows. It had been a shock when he had realised that those beacons were his sister's eyes. The figure of living light, he knew, must have been Jareth but it was hard to reconcile that sight with the man he had come to know over the past days.

He ducked behind a tapestry that concealed an opening and continued down a sloping passage that led directly to the battlements. He didn't know what he was going to find. Of Jareth's fight with Khazad he had seen very little: both had been moving too fast for the human eye to follow. It was only at the end he had been able to see clearly: he had heard that terrible shriek that had reverberated painfully in his head; and he had seen Sarah fall forward into Jareth's arms.

Toby burst through the doorway and stumbled to a halt on the battlements. After so much darkness the sunshine was dazzling. He screwed up his eyes against the light; and then he saw them.

Sarah's eyes fluttered open. She felt as limp and boneless as a new-born and knew she would have fallen but for the arms that held her firmly. It seemed unnaturally bright and for a moment she thought that the worst had happened and they both were dead. Spending eternity in his arms didn't sound so bad as far as the afterlife went... Until she realised that she could feel his metal breastplate digging into her and the air was heavy with the scent of the jasmine that grew below the battlements. The mismatched eyes that had haunted her for a decade were inches from her own. Beyond him she saw her brother and behind Toby the solid, comforting mass that was Ludo. She refocused on the Goblin King's handsome face.

'It's over, isn't it? Everything's all right now?' Her voice was scratchy.

It was one of the few times she had seen a genuine smile. 'Yes. It's all right now.'

Her own smile was gentle, peaceful; her eyelids felt heavy as she rested against him. 'Looks like you didn't lie to me, after all.'


	20. Absolute Beginners

The song was raw and wild, his powerful voice soaring effortlessly across the expanse of the Labyrinth. From the castle the extent of the damage was clearly visible: areas of greenery were scored and the earth churned up; the intricate network of pathways and passages were frequently interrupted where walls had collapsed. The Goblins had been working hard to remove the worst of the rubble - and to bury their dead. For days the air had been filled with the sound of their laments: earthy and resonant, they held their own strange beauty.

But this song was different and as it continued the Labyrinth began to heal itself. The deep furrows that scarred the plains slowly softened and blurred, finally being covered over by fresh grass. As Sarah listened she felt all of her skin prickling. After feeling the energy of this place flowing through her, it seemed as though Jareth's song was penetrating to the core of her being. It was easy, sometimes, to forget exactly who and what he was. He was not the man who took you to the movies, washed the car at the weekend and mowed the lawn. He was a king, a magician of sorts, and wild and more than a little dangerous.

But she still closed her eyes and felt his voice reverberate through her.

'Nice tune.' Delaine's voice, unexpectedly close to her ear, pulled her out of her reverie. 'Don't think much of the lyrics, though,' she continued heartlessly.

'It doesn't have any lyrics,' Sarah said, smiling slightly.

The gash on Delaine's cheek had been reduced to a thin red line; within a few days it would vanish completely. She was wearing a slightly harassed expression.

'How's the invalid?'

Delaine rolled her eyes. 'The sooner he goes home, the better.'

Sarah bit back her laughter. Delaine, in a moment of tenderness, had insisted that Rajad stay with them until his shoulder had healed. The moment now passed, she had done nothing but complain about him. Despite that, she spent most of her time with him - and the pair spent most of that time bickering. The obvious solution to this, as far as Sarah could see, was for them to avoid one another, but she had the impression that they actually enjoyed their ongoing verbal battles. A penchant for complicated relationships seemed to be another trait Jareth and his sister shared.

'Why did you two split up anyway?' Curiosity got the better of her.

'Because he's stubborn, arrogant, vain and impossible to live with.'

'Sounds charming.'

'He can be. When he wants to be. That's the problem.' Delaine sighed and then shook herself. 'Ever know one of those people you could quite cheerfully strangle whenever you see them, but you can't get them out of your head?' A pause. 'I can't believe I just asked you that.'

'I don't want to strangle Jareth,' Sarah protested. 'Well, not anymore. As much.' She managed to avoid Delaine's eyes but saw the blonde's sardonic smile.

'I hope I'm not interrupting at an inappropriate moment, my dears.'

Ambrosius was leaning heavily on his staff and regarding them with evident amusement. Toby was with the wizard and from the exaggeratedly innocent expression he affected, Sarah judged that he had been up to something of which she would not entirely approve. She chose not to enquire further, a decision that resulted in a telltale sigh of relief from her brother.

'We were just having one one of those women's conversations,' Delaine said airily. Toby automatically made a face that expressed pure disgust. Ambrosius' eyes were still as lively as ever, but his lined face looked tired and his shoulders sloped more than they had before. Delaine frowned slightly, her keen eyes raking his face. 'Are you feeling all right, Ambrosius?

'Feeling my age, my dear. Which is considerable.'

'You'll be here longer than any of us, Ambrosius,' Delaine said firmly.

The wizard's beard twitched. 'Is that a prediction, Delaine? I thought that prophesy was supposed to be my role here.'

'Let's just call it an educated guess.' Her voice was strained. 'What's wrong?'

He was using his staff as a prop and even as they spoke to him he seemed to sag against it more heavily. 'I am not ill, if that is what's worrying you,' he responded. 'I'm just rather tired. I think I may take a little nap.' His black eyes sparkled. 'I'm an old man, my dear: I need my beauty sleep far more than a young thing like you.' He looked down at Toby. 'It's been a great pleasure getting to know you, my boy. You've turned out rather well.'

Toby stared back up at him, suspicion slowly clouding his expression. 'I'm gonna see you again, right?'

Ambrosius looked between him and Sarah. 'That rather depends on your sister.' He smiled over at her. 'Take care, dear girl.'

He slowly melted before their eyes and for a moment all three stared at the spot he had been standing in. 'The last time he went for a little nap,' Delaine said, 'we didn't see him for about fifteen years.'

'Will he be all right?'

'I think so.'

Toby was still frowning; now he turned his wary gaze to Sarah. 'What did he mean when he said it depends on you if I see him again?'

Delaine looked between the two siblings; her brother's voice was still echoing across the Labyrinth and she heard the change in note and rhythm with relief. 'I think it's time for a duet. If you'll excuse me...' She started toward the battlements and then turned back. 'Sarah...'

'Yes?' she prompted.

Delaine's shoulders sagged. 'Nothing.'

Sarah focused on the retreating figure without really seeing her. She steeled herself and then met her brother's accusing stare.

'You want to take us away again, don't you?'

'Toby-'

'Don't you?'

'That's what I need to talk to you about, Toby. Toby!'

He had run back into the castle. Feeling both sympathy and annoyance, Sarah started after him. Goblins leapt out of their way as they rushed past. For reasons best known to themselves, a small posse was manoeuvring a suit of armour along a corridor: Sarah squeezed past them and then heard the inevitable crash and their voices raised in complaint behind her. The Goblin King would have some disgruntled subjects to contend with when he had finished his work. Provided that the combination of the Goblins' inept housekeeping and their own sprint around the place didn't result in the castle being reduced to a pile of rubble.

Toby could move quickly, but Sarah had almost managed to catch him up; he turned a corner and she followed him, and then came to a dead stop, staring down the vertiginous passageway that dropped away from her feet. It had never occurred to her that it would still be there; the room was as disorienting and sinister as when she had first seen it and it took several seconds before her heart rate settled back to normal. She could hear his light feet pattering up - or down - one of the staircases. 'Toby?'

'Leave me alone.'

It was impossible to tell where his voice was coming from. She mounted the staircase closest to her tentatively but then, realising the ridiculousness of the situation, sat down on the top step. 'I'm not going to go chasing you all around this place, Toby,' she called. 'I'm sitting right here, and we are going to talk about this.'

There was silence for a long time, until he appeared from around a corner, as silently and nimbly as Jareth could have managed. He had learnt well from his self-appointed mentor, she thought. 'Are you ready to listen to me now?'

'I know what you're gonna say,' he muttered; his head was lowered, but he raised his eyes to hers from under a shock of unruly blonde hair. 'I don't want to go back home, I want to stay here!'

'It isn't that simple, Toby,' she said patiently. 'Just because we go home doesn't mean that you won't see any of your friends again - they can visit you all the time and maybe we could even come back to see them sometimes.' Sarah held out a hand to him. 'Come here and sit down.'

'You can't tell me what to do!' he shouted suddenly. 'You're not my mom! You're not even my proper sister; you're just a half-sister!' He stopped himself, either because of the knowledge that he had gone too far, or because of the look on her face. His slender shoulders shook. 'I-I'm sorry.' She remained silent. He crept up the stairs and sat next to her, unable to look at her.

'You're right,' she said after a while. 'I'm not Karen. I'm not Dad, either. I can never take their place. But I am responsible for you, Toby. You know, when Jareth took you, after I ... I wished you away, he offered me... He offered me everything, really; well, you saw it, didn't you?'

'He offered you your dreams,' Toby said indistinctly.

'Yes, he did. And I refused it. I made you my priority, Toby, and I have never regretted that part. And it's what I have to do now: it's just you and me and I have to decide what's the best thing for you. I know that it seems really unfair having other people make decisions for you, but that's part of beng a kid. The adults have to make the hard decisions so that you don't have to.'

'But I don't see why we can't just stay here.' Toby was picking at the fraying edge of a tear in his jeans. Sarah felt the reproach spring to her lips but suppressed it: now was not the time to start quoting Toby's mother at him. 'There's nothing for us at home anymore. Mom and Dad aren't there.'

The knowledge was like a heavy stone in the pit of her stomach. 'I know. But we have lives there - and you have to go to school; you need an education.'

'Ambrosius can teach me. He taught Delaine and Jareth and they know about everything.' His face was beseeching, hopeful. 'I mean, how many kids get to be taught by Merlin?'

'Not that many, I guess. Ambrosius has been showing you around, huh?'

Toby nodded. 'And Sir Didymus promised to show me how to use a sword.' Realising that this may not be the best method of persuading Sarah to stay, Toby hastily added, 'Not with real swords, obviously, that would be stupid, but with, y'know, sticks and stuff.'

She didn't have the heart to disappoint him twice in one day. 'That sounds like fun. I think I saw Sir Didymus and Ludo down in the rose garden - why don't you go find them, get a head start on the fencing lessons?'

He stood slowly. 'Are you coming?'

'No. I think I'll stay here for a bit.'

Toby's feet dragged slightly as he went down the stairs; when he reached the bottom he looked back at Sarah. 'Jareth made this place for you, y'know. Guess he thought you'd like it. He's strange, isn't he?'

'Yeah. Yeah, he is very strange.'

'But in a good way.'

She nodded. Toby left the room by way of a doorway in the floor; Sarah barely blinked at the sight.

She remained seated for a while but, eventually, started to wander through the dizzying maze of the Escher room. It was a remarkable place, she realised. No matter where you were it was impossible to determine which was the right way up. She smiled to herself - when Jareth said he had turned the world upside down, he wasn't joking. She remembered the argument she had had with Sam when they had broken up - she had been quite certain about what she wanted then. Sarah took a step off a platform and enjoyed the momentary sensation of flying before her feet hit solid ground again. She continued her slow progress, until she found herself at the edge of the pit that she had jumped down in order to retrieve her brother.

Sarah inched closer and then stared into the abyss - the dark mouth gave up no light. For a moment she wondered if, should she throw herself into it again, she would find the answers at the bottom. Would Jareth be waiting to make her another offer? And what would her answer be this time?

Around her the walls of the Escher room rose like a cathedral in honour of the impossible made real. She pulled herself back from the edge.

* * *

When Sarah emerged from the castle, she found that it had been raining. The clouds had passed, leaving the sky pale and clear. The air was fresh against her skin. Jareth stood alone on the battlements: his song finished, he was regarding his lands. There were tiny droplets of water caught in his hair, glinting in the sunlight like miniature crystals as he turned his head. Sarah felt unshakeably calm as she joined him and looked out over the Labyrinth.

'You've fixed it all. It looks like it did before.'

He stirred slightly. 'You can never put anything back exactly the way it was before.'

'No, I guess not. But it still looks beautiful.'

'Of course it does,' he retorted haughtily. 'It is my Labyrinth, after all.'

Delaine's description of Rajad could equally apply to Jareth, Sarah thought, but kept that opinion to herself. Instead, she undid the clasp at the back of her neck and removed the amulet, holding it out to him. 'I promised I'd return it.'

He took hold of it thoughtfully, as though judging its weight in his hand. 'Yes... You also promised that you would return Aboveground with Toby if I fell.'

'I did promise that.'

Jareth tilted his head back and scrutinised her fiercely. 'So, you lied.' He leaned closer, trapping her against the stone balustrade. 'We have severe penalties for liars in the Underground, Sarah.'

She met his stare, her grey eyes sparkling. 'No, I did not lie. Exactly. When you said 'fall', I interpreted that as meaning dead. You were not dead. You had just fallen down, not actually fallen.' She mimed inverted commas in the air.

He pulled back, his eyes wandering over her. 'You've been spending too much time with Ambrosius - he also has the ability to stretch logic to its limits.'

Sarah shook her head. 'Nah. My dad was a lawyer. He taught me that sometimes if you interpret things very literally it can give you a great deal of leeway. Anyway, are you complaining? I may have helped to save your life. And the entire Underground, in fact. You could at least be a little grateful.'

'I am indeed.' His glittering gaze softened and he raised both her hands to his lips. 'All hail the Lady Sarah.' He paused and then added more seriously, 'I am aware of the choice you made, Sarah. I know how difficult it must have been.'

'It wasn't as bad as it could have been. I knew that it wasn't real, but the funny thing was ... my dad... He told me I had to do the right thing. That's exactly what my dad would have said, if it he had actually been there.' She shrugged. 'It's silly, I know, but I like to think that maybe it really was him. And Karen. Like they were able to talk to me somehow, give me permission for what I knew I had to do.'

'I think I would have liked your father,' Jareth observed softly.

'I know he would have liked you.' His elegant eyebrows arched again. 'Once he'd got past the whole Venetian aristocrat thing you've got going on there, obviously.'

'Obviously.'

Her eyes fell back to their joined hands. 'You're not wearing any gloves!'

He laughed slightly. 'I had no idea that it was such a momentous event.'

'I've just never seen you without them before.' She inspected them: his fingers were long and tapered like a musician's, the hands themselves well-shaped and strong.

'You have very-'

He turned her right hand palm-upwards and kissed the inside of her wrist.

'Very beautiful hands,' she finished unsteadily.

'Thank you,' he murmured, repeating the procedure with her left wrist.

Sarah swallowed hard. 'Wow. I didn't burst into flame or turn to stone or anything.'

'Did you think you might?'

'Well.' She tried vainly to get rid of the strangled feeling in her throat. 'Well, what with the constant gloves and all, I thought that maybe something terrible would happen if you touched someone without them.'

'Funny you should say that...' He met her reproachful look and laughed, releasing her hands. 'When I inherited the kingdom I also inherited a great deal of power. I was still relatively young and had not learnt to control the magic properly.' He paused then added wryly, 'There were a number of incidents as a result. I found that the gloves helped - a sort of barrier, as it were. Over the years it's just become a habit. I also find it adds to the overall mystique.'

She looked him up and down. 'Mmm. And they say women are vain.'

His lips twitched slightly before, with apparent innocence, he asked, 'Has Toby calmed down yet?'

'Oh, for heaven's sake!' Sarah rolled her eyes. 'Are there no secrets in this place?'

He gave her one of his enigmatic smiles. 'I don't know - that's the point about secrets.'

Sarah's face grew more serious, but the steadiness she had found within herself remained intact. 'He's so certain - so sure about what he wants.'

'Yes, that's one of the enviable virtues of youth. Things become more difficult as you get older.'

'Maybe. I think it's because they become scarier. You can see all the things that could go wrong and it can be paralysing.' She paused and then added, 'I never did see what was in that crystal - the one with my dreams.'

'Would you like me to show it to you?' he asked softly.

'No.'

Something had changed in her, Jareth thought. She was radiating... A sort of serenity, as though she had reconciled herself to something.

'Sometimes dreams are just that: dreams. And you have to let them go.'

She had made up her mind, he realised. And he had no idea what her decision would be. For the first time, he was the one unable to read her and it unnerved him.

Sarah watched him for a moment. 'I know what my dreams are. But I have to ask you something, Jareth, and I need you to tell me the truth.'

'I told you - I have never lied to you.'

She raised her eyebrows.

'Apart from one honourable exception.'

'Very honourable.' He was rewarded with a dazzling smile. 'After you ... you kissed me, you just walked away. Why?'

It was not the question he had expected. He leaned against the balustrade, looking out across the beloved land he had come so close to losing. 'I had to. If I had even looked at you I would have kissed you again.' He glanced at her with a sly smile. 'Your kisses could bring a man back from the dead, Sarah. And I would not have been able to leave you; I may never have left that room and all would have been lost.' He turned to face her. 'You are my weakness, Sarah, and my strength. You have been since the moment I saw you. I would keep you here; I would have you stay with me forever and I would devote myself to your happiness. But only if that is your choice. You have a life Aboveground and if you wish to return to it I will not stop you.'

'Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave,' Sarah intoned. 'I've been thinking about that a lot, and what you meant by it. And what I want.'

He was looking out over the Labyrinth again. 'And what conclusion have you reached?'

'I don't want you to be my slave, Jareth; and I will not be yours. But I will love you, and I will stay with you.'

He stared at her, wild-eyed; Sarah felt euphoric laughter bubbling up inside her.

'You-you know what this means? You would be leaving you friends, your family.'

She looked to where Toby was attempting to teach the Goblins the principles of American football: Ludo acting as quarterback, Delaine helpfully conjuring helmets and shoulder-pads, Hoggle and Sir Didymus shouting enthusiastic encouragement from the sidelines. Even Rajad - though still standing aloof from the others - had come to watch. 'My family and most of my friends are already here.' She turned back to Jareth, meeting his mismatched eyes. 'Everything I want is right here.'

One hand gripped the balustrade tightly. 'Are you sure?'

Sarah almost laughed and folded her arms, gazing at him provocatively. 'What's said is said. Tell me you love me.'

'I do. I love you.'

His mouth claimed hers. Her lips were soft and pliant, her hair cool and silken under his hands.

Time is difficult to measure in the Underground - it is impossible to say how long they were entwined before they broke apart.

Sarah finally opened her eyes. 'And they all lived happily ever after,' she said dreamily.

He held her at arm's length. 'Yea gods, woman, what do you think this is? Some sort of fairy tale?'

'Isn't it?' She stepped back into his embrace and twined her arms around his neck, twisting a lock of his hair through her fingers. 'Okay, how about we start over again? With "Once upon a time..."'

**_The Start._ **


End file.
